The National: New online news service launches in Wales

The editor said the service would "create an open national conversation" in Wales

A brand new news service has been launched in Wales on St David's Day.

The National is described by publisher Newsquest as a "quality national news platform" which will be published online, behind a paywall.

Occasional print editions include a "souvenir" first edition newspaper, available to buy in shops on Monday.

Editor Gavin Thompson said the National, which will create three jobs, would be "pro-Wales" but not necessarily pro-independence.

"We are ambitious, we'd like to do a lot, but we also want to do it well, so we're not going to try and do everything from day one," Mr Thompson said.

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The paper, he added, will focus on a "number of key" topics, including Welsh news, the environment, culture and politics.

Mr Thompson said the media landscape in Wales struggled to match that of Scotland, where the public have the choice between several national newspaper titles as well as Scottish editions of UK newspapers.

"Wales doesn't really have that in the same way and we really feel it should," he explained.

"It's really been very stark during the Covid pandemic where a large number of people take their news from sources that are writing it from an English perspective."

Newsquest publishes a number of Welsh titles, including its daily newspapers the South Wales Argus, covering Newport and the Gwent valleys, and the Leader, covering Wrexham and Flintshire.

A number of job cuts were announced at the publisher's Welsh titles last year, which a union described as a "kick in the teeth" for staff.

It is also the publisher of The National in Scotland, which is pro-independence.

The National editor Gavin Thompson says more jobs could follow in the future

Mr Thompson, who is regional editor for Newsquest titles in Wales, said while the National would be politically neutral, it would "create an open national conversation" about the future of Wales.

Three new jobs have been created, with two journalists hired to create original content and the other re-writing material from Newsquest's other Welsh titles.

Mr Thompson said more jobs could follow in the future.

People will need to pay £6.99 per month to access The National's content beyond a handful of free articles.

'Journalism isn't free'

Mr Thompson said the model would work because "quality journalism is worth paying for", and its offer of "more depth and quality" will stand in contrast to most Welsh journalism.

"You can do things by having scale, by having massive numbers and having lots of advertising, or you can do things by having the consumer paying," he said.

"Someone has to pay somewhere because journalism isn't free."

The latest venture comes days after the publisher of weekly newspaper the Pembrokeshire Herald launched a news website for Wales - Herald.Wales.

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