2 May 2008
Media Wales has confirmed it has tabled a bid to produce a Welsh language news website. This follows The Welsh Assembly Government’s funding announcement earlier this year.
£600,000 of funding will be available for the successful applicant. This will be released as £200,000 each year for three years. Media Wales already publishes Western Mail and other south Wales titles. Four other contenders are believed to have met the deadline for funding applications this week to the Welsh Books Council. One publisher who hasn’t tabled a bid is Dyddiol Cyf.
When the Welsh Assembly elections were held last May, the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition was formed under the 'One Wales Pact' which contained a pledge to support a daily newspaper in Welsh. Publisher Dyddiol Cyf was hoping for a grant of £1m just to launch the daily Welsh-language paper Y Byd, so when the Assembly announced the £600,000 package earlier this year, Y Byd was scrapped and Dyddiol Cyf pulled out.
The company said at the time it was "highly unlikely" that any other company could launch a paper with that size of grant.
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