£200,000 Welsh language news service money split between two companies

The money handed out by the Books Council for a Welsh language online service will be split between two companies, they have said.

Rather than Golwg360 solely receiving the grant as was previously the case, £100,000 will go to Golwg360 and £100,000 to a Newsquest site Corgi Cymru to develop a separate news service.

The grants were awarded following an open tender process, which invites applications for the delivery of a dedicated Welsh-language digital news service.

The grant is administered by the Books Council of Wales on behalf of Welsh Government, with an independent panel awarding the funding.

Helgard Krause, Chief Executive of the Books Council, said: “The purpose of the grant is to enable Welsh-language news provision that makes a significant contribution to the quality and range of journalism in Wales, with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of people, especially young people, who engage with news through the medium of Welsh.

“Both companies presented exciting and distinct proposals to the independent grants panel about how they would deliver high-quality news services that will appeal to readers across Wales, with stories and content that are relevant, accessible and have a strong Welsh voice.

“We’re very pleased that we have been able to award grant funding to both companies and provide more choice than ever for people to access their daily news in Welsh through a variety of digital platforms.”