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 Front page of the earliest surviving copy of the Western Mail; 1 May 1869 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner | Reach plc |
| Founder | John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute |
| Publisher | Media Wales |
| Founded | 1869; 156 years ago (1869) |
| Circulation | 5,271 (as of 2023)[1] |
| Website | walesonline |
TheWestern Mail is a dailynewspaper published byMedia Wales Ltd inCardiff,Wales owned by the UK's largest newspaper company,Reach plc.[2] The Sunday edition of the newspaper is published under the titleWales on Sunday.[3]
It describes itself as "the national newspaper of Wales" (originally "the national newspaper of Wales andMonmouthshire"), although it has a very limited circulation innorth Wales.[4] The paper was published inbroadsheet format until 2004,[5] when it became acompact. It has an average circulation of 6,119 in 2022.[6]
Historically inSouth Wales theWestern Mail has always been associated with its original owners, thecoal andironindustrialists. Often this led to the paper being regarded with a considerable degree of enmity, especially during thestrikes in the coal industry of the 20th century. This association between the newspaper and its owner was so strong there is still a degree of distrust of the paper in South Wales.[citation needed]
In contrast, and particularly followingdevolution[vague], the newspaper has adopted a populist, localist, pro-Wales stance, mainly in trying to find a Welsh focus on major news stories. The newspaper has also stressed the community issues such as the closure ofWelsh schools.[7] The newspaper devotes a great deal of its coverage toWelsh rugby.
TheWestern Mail was founded inCardiff in 1869 byJohn Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute as aConservative penny daily paper designed to promote the Marquess' political aspirations.[8]Henry Lascelles Carr (1841–1902), editor since 1869, bought the paper withDaniel Owen in 1877. Under Carr, and later William Davies, the paper became influential in Wales.[8]
The paper was acquired in 1924 by theAllied Newspapers consortium, headed by the Welsh Berry brothers,William Berry, Lord Camrose, andGomer Berry. The consortium quickly merged four other regional papers into theWestern Mail. The paper later became part of Kemsley Newspapers and then, in 1959,Thomson Regional Newspapers.
In the mid-1950s, journalist David Cole (1928–2003) became editor at the age of only 27, the youngest editor of a UK daily newspaper at the time. He was later awarded aCBE for services to journalism and became chairman of Western Mail and Echo Ltd.[9]
In the 1950s,Donald Woods, who later participated in theSouth Africananti-apartheid movement and who publicised the events surrounding the secret death of activistSteve Biko, was employed as a reporter.[10]
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