Y Byd ''(The World)'' was an attempt to launch the first

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

daily newspaper. It was scheduled to be published five days a week, from Monday to Friday, as of Monday 3 March 2008. However, on 15 February 2008, the proposed newspaper's owners, Dyddiol, abandoned the plans, citing 'insufficient' funding from the

Welsh Assembly Government Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

. Publication was initially held up by the need to find sufficient subscribers, causing several delays to proposed launch dates. Prior to the cessation of its plans, £300,000 worth of subscriptions had been placed and staff were being employed. The company was hoping to attract 5,000 subscribers ahead of the planned launch. The paper was due to employ 24 people from headquarters in

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

and receive funding from

Powys County Council Powys County Council () is the local authority for Powys, one of the 22 principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Llandrindod Wells. History The county of Powys was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act ...

. The editor for ''Y Byd'' was due to be Aled Price, a former BBC Cymru journalist, with Catrin Rogers, a local newspaper editor in London, deputising. The paper would have cost 70p daily, with Friday's copy — which would have included a weekend supplement — retailing at £1.20.

''Y Byd'' abandoned

On 5 February 2008, the Welsh Assembly minister for the Welsh language, heritage and culture

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; , ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, and often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left, Welsh nationalist list of political parties in Wales, political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from th ...

Rhodri Glyn Thomas Rhodri Glyn Thomas (born 11 April 1953) is a Welsh politician. He was the Plaid Cymru National Assembly for Wales Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr from 1999 to 2016, when he did not re-stand for election. Following his retirement from th ...

, announced a subsidy grant of £200,000 to Welsh-language newspapers and magazines every year for the next three years. However, the grant was considerably short of £600,000 (for the first year) hoped by the owners of Y Byd. Prior to this announcement, a review into the Welsh-medium press by the Welsh Language Board concluded that there was not enough evidence for a viable daily newspaper in the Welsh language. On 15 February 2008, a statement by Dyddiol announced that plans for ''Y Byd'' had been abandoned. In the statement, Ned Thomas, the chairman of Dyddiol criticised the Assembly government for not meeting a pledge to expand funding and support for Welsh-language press. The editor of ''Y Byd'', Aled Price resigned following the funding announcement by

. The company is now said to be considering other options for Welsh-language press.
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References

External links

Y Byd website

Welsh language paper is unveiled
''

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

'', 20 June 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Byd, Y Newspapers published in Wales Welsh-language newspapers 2006 establishments in Wales

''Y Byd'' abandoned

See also

References

External links