Leighton Andrews AM

Numeracy levels at the BBC

I am very concerned about numeracy at the BBC. Click on the document to find out why.

Download BBC Numeracy

Written Statement: University of Wales

Yesterday I published a written statement about the University of Wales, which can be viewed on the Welsh Government website.

I was also interviewed for BBC Wales Today.

 

The University of Wales

I thought I would put a link up to my interview on Good Evening Wales on Wednesday. That's the programme on 10/11/10. If you go in at about 22 minutes you will find it. 

 

Tonypandy in the media

There are a number of programmes to mark the centenary of the riots. The programme made by Green Bay (John Geraint from Penygraig and Phil George from Treorchy) goes out on the BBC on Sunday evening, and there is also a Radio Wales programme.

The Radio Cymru programme is available on the BBC website here. It is fascinating, not only for the story of the strike but also as a reminder of the provenance of the Welsh Language in the Rhondda at the time, with archive interviews in Welsh with the former Rhondda MP the late W.H. Mainwaring.

Despair

Despair as news reaches Wales that BBC Trust plans to publish star salaries....

 

Desperate Measures

 Desperate Measures as BBC cuts expenses

 

Free Bus Passes are safe

This story from BBC Wales is tosh. It's legitimate for them to report the story, but a better angle would have been 'Assembly Government rejects Ministerial Advisory Group's views on concessionary fares.'

We are not going to abolish free bus passes for pensioners and disabled people - probably one of the most popular Assembly policies there is.

ITV Wales

There used to be quite a good programme about politics on ITV Wales called Waterfront, presented by Jo Kiernan and then Lee Waters. It was replaced a year or so back by a less interesting programme called Sharp End.

Now ITV Wales has pulled the plug, meaning that there is even less competition for the BBC in political reporting.

This is what we have all feared.

Does Mark Thompson have a point?

BBC Director-General Mark Thompson has made several BBC Wales journalists very cross by suggesting that the BBC Wales newsroom holds back good stories from the network.

But maybe he has a point.

Yesterday BBC Radio Wales reported in the morning that the Israeli ambassador had said that the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly had 'disgraced himself' by his email last week.

No mention of this on Wales Today. Nor on BBC Online.

If they don't report significant stories properly themselves, perhaps it's no wonder BBC network news doesn't get told?

Election Reflections (2)

Looking around the Welsh elections for some positives, obviously the Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend results were outstanding (including Ogmore). It is disappointing that BBC Wales has failed to give appropriate coverage to the recovery in Bridgend. Labour also made 5 gains on Anglesey: before we had no councillors. And I thought given the extraordinary difficulties across Wales, the overall performance in Swansea was good.