HOW would you like some money to set up your own newspaper?

That’s the question being posed this week by the Welsh Assembly, who are considering following up their financial support to radio stations in the principality by giving grants to groups starting their own “community newspapers”.

It’s a great idea, but how will it work?

I worked once on a proud title in North Wales called The Vale Advertiser, which is absolutely the sort of title that communities love; small, but in touch with the people who read it. Or at least it was until owners Trinity Mirror closed both it and its office down last year, and that’s the problem affecting readers of smaller titles across the country.

It’s obvious why a lot of smaller papers have been shut down – they don’t make any money – so the idea of enterprising editors starting up their own operations, freed from the constraints of satisfying shareholders of huge media companies, with Welsh Assembly money isn’t a bad one. The only question is how.

In the Facebook era almost anyone can claim they’re providing “community news”, so it’s tricky to know when to stop sending out the cheques. I know of a hugely controversial blog in the Llandudno area with lots of suspicious exclusives; would they qualify? And if someone’s prepared to give you effectively free funding, what would they expect in return?

Taking steps to make sure people are still wound up by their newspapers together as a community is an important step, but if it’s going to be fair and independent, it’ll have to be watched very carefully.

There’s also one other small problem stopping community-orientated papers like The Champion from being eligible. We aren’t Welsh enough.

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