Nation.Cymru’s team expands again with the appointment of a new features editor

Nation.Cymru’s news team will expand again next week with the appointment of a new features editor to spearhead the news service’s push into the fields of culture, the arts and sport.

David Owens has been contributing to the site as a freelancer in the past but thanks to the continued support of Nation.Cymru’s over 900 financial supporters the website is able to expand its team by creating a new full-time post.

It follows Nation.Cymru appointing its first full-time Editor, Gareth Ceidiog Hughes, in February of this year.

David Owens now joins Gareth, CEO Mark Mansfield, editorial consultant Llinos Dafydd, books editor Jon Gower and founder and director Ifan Morgan Jones on the team.

David Owens said: “I’m thrilled to come on board at such an exciting time in the evolution of Nation.Cymru.

“I’ve been so impressed with Nation’s editorial ambitions and its aim of being a truly national news site by the people of Wales, for the people of Wales.

“Since its inception, the site has shone a light on subjects that were often overlooked and has given a voice to those who previously went unheard, becoming a real point of difference between other media outlets in Wales.

“Continuing this ideology and growing the Nation.Cymru audience through quality editorial is something I’m incredibly passionate about.

“Being handed the opportunity to expand the site’s coverage of culture, the arts and sport is hugely exciting. I can’t wait to get started.”

David Owens has been a journalist for 30 years. Born and raised in Cardiff, he started out in newspapers and magazines in Wales before heading to London and Brighton where he worked on a range of publications in a variety of positions from features editor to managing editor.

He then headed back home to the Welsh capital where he worked in a number of roles at Media Wales, including senior reporter, arts correspondent and desk editor. He is the author of Cerys, Catatonia and the Rise of Welsh Pop and one of the co-hosts of the Welsh Music Podcast.

If you have a story for David, get in touch with him on [email protected].

‘Foundations’

The founder of Nation.Cymru, Ifan Morgan Jones, said that David Owen’s appointment was another big step forward for the news service.

“It’s very exciting to welcome such an experienced and talented features editor on board whose in-depth, long-form articles will complement our current affairs news, book reviews and lively opinion sections,” he said.

“It’s hard to believe that in just four years we’ve expanded from just one part-time member of staff working for free to a situation where we have a number of members of staff on board producing such a comprehensive news service.

“In tandem, the number of readers we have and articles we publish have also increased substantially. We are now regularly publishing over 400 articles a month and attracting over 700,000 visitors a month.

“This is all possible thanks to the growth in the number of monthly supporters, to over 900 over the past few months and now approaching the big 1,000. We’re also grateful to the Welsh Books Council for their continued support which has allowed us to build on solid financial foundations.

“It is also thanks to our independent, not-for-profit business model which allows us to invest every penny we raise directly back into the site itself.

“If you would like to help us continue to expand in the future please considering becoming a monthly subscriber. For only the price of a cup of coffee a month you can make a huge difference to the strength of the media in Wales.”