The Gareth Jones legacy for Welsh public interest journalism

Dr Huw Evans

The legacy of Welsh investigative journalist Gareth Jones continues to resonate nearly a century after his death, standing as a powerful reminder of the importance of fearless public interest journalism.

At a time when Wales has a new government promising renewal and democratic reform, his example feels especially relevant.

Journalism that serves the public interest matters because it provides reliable, independent information that enables people to participate in civic life and hold power to account.

It is journalism rooted not in profit or influence, but in the common good.

Public interest journalism also helps give practical effect to the right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. By supplying trustworthy, independent reporting, public interest journalism helps people form informed views and act on them.

The public interest does not have a single fixed definition, because it arises in many different contexts. A useful starting point is the IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice, which gives a non-exhaustive list of examples, including: detecting or exposing crime, or serious impropriety; protecting public health or safety; protecting the public from being misled; disclosing a miscarriage of justice; and raising or contributing to a matter of public debate.

For disclosure to be in the public interest, it must serve a legitimate wider societal interest.

Public interest journalism includes investigative reporting, but also includes the routine, yet essential, scrutiny of public institutions and decision-makers, such as the Senedd and local authorities.

Gareth Jones

Gareth Jones was a Welsh investigative journalist whose reporting became one of the clearest early accounts of the Holodomor. He is best known for the dispatches he sent from Soviet Ukraine in 1933, in which he exposed the regime-induced famine that caused nearly four million deaths.

At the time, Jones’s reporting was mocked or dismissed by some Western correspondents who repeated the Soviet line. Walter Duranty of the New York Times, despite being a Pulitzer Prize winner, became the most prominent critic when he challenged Jones’s claims in an article headlined ‘Russians Hungry, But Not Starving’. History, however, has vindicated Jones.

Jones’s legacy should not be reduced to his reporting on the Holodomor alone. It also lies in the wider example he set as a journalist: he was fearless, committed to truth, and insistent that serious claims should be supported by evidence.

He was murdered in China in 1935 pursuing his journalistic activities.

Public interest journalism in Wales

Plaid Cymru’s manifesto promises to build on existing support for Welsh journalism, explore long-term funding, and consider treating public interest journalism as a public service.

Current support includes the Public Interest Journalism Fund and a dedicated Senedd reporter post.

The fund followed the 2023 Of and for Wales report on Welsh public interest journalism and, in 2025–26, awarded around £210,000 to eight projects designed to sustain and develop the sector.

The Senedd reporter post was introduced in 2023. Both are funded by the Welsh Government but are intended to operate at arm’s length to protect editorial independence.

These measures are limited, but they are still significant. They offer a practical starting point, and the manifesto’s wider proposals build on themes identified in the Of and For Wales report.

Why independence matters

Long-term support for public interest journalism in Wales should be more clearly independent of government. Even arm’s-length arrangements can create both real and perceived influence, weakening public trust.

The best model remains open, but any durable system is likely to need an independent body that supports public interest journalism, allocates funding without direct government control, and draws on a legally protected income source under independent governance.

Public service and democratic value

The manifesto’s phrase ‘designation of public interest journalism as a public service’ is vague. ‘Promotion’ may be better than ‘designation’, because it stresses the social value of this kind of journalism without suggesting a merely bureaucratic label.

Public interest journalism can be seen as part of the civic infrastructure of Welsh democracy. It strengthens public debate, improves accountability, and supports civil society. Understood in that way, the principle could help shape both funding arrangements and the wider legal and institutional framework for journalism in Wales.

Legal environment

The legal framework could do more to protect public interest journalism. Journalists may avoid investigating wrongdoing if they risk legal action from those they scrutinise. Even defensible reporting can be costly and exhausting to defend, especially against well-resourced claimants.

A related problem is the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. These abusive legal threats or claims are intended to intimidate journalists and discourage scrutiny. A bill to address SLAPPs had cross-party support, but it fell when the UK Government changed in 2024.

Had it passed, it could have strengthened public interest journalism by allowing judges to dismiss weak or abusive claims at an early stage and by reducing the excessive costs faced by investigative reporters.

Justice is not devolved, so legal reform must come from the UK Parliament. Even so, the Welsh Government can still press for change. One priority would be to support the reintroduction of anti-SLAPP legislation.

More broadly, an audit could identify other legal reforms that would better protect public interest journalism, such as possible changes to defamation law. Because these concerns would not be unique to Wales, the case for reform could also attract wider support.

Why public support is needed

The market can support public interest journalism, but not sufficiently. Where commercial incentives are weak, especially locally, coverage gaps emerge and communities become news deserts. That is why publicly funded support is needed.

Public interest journalism helps represent society’s legitimate interests, not just those of the powerful or well connected. It strengthens democratic debate and keeps people and institutions accountable to those they serve.

Gareth Jones’s legacy must be honoured. If the Welsh Government acts early in its term to deliver its manifesto commitments with seriousness and ambition, that would be a fitting way to do so.