Skip to main content

WELCOME RHODRI

Rhodri Morgan is joining the Western Mail as a weekly columnist and will write for the paper every Saturday.

The former First Minister said that he was looking forward to his new role immensely.

To quote,

“I’m going to take a very varied approach. Some of the time I will be looking forward over the next 10 years and sometimes I will be looking back over the past 10 years, when I’ve been so involved in leading Welsh political life. I’ll also be looking at all the things in Wales that don’t involve politics directly.”

According to the Western Mail, he has never had a newspaper column before.

Having been a columnist for the Western Mail since 2004, it is far more work than you think to come up with a different piece every week.

However, someone who has his amazing memory and the ability to quote every fact under the sun should have little problem in producing something that will be enjoyable to read and well written.

The danger, of course, is that the column will merely become a weekly advert for the Labour Party and the policies of the Welsh Assembly Government. If the former First Minister can avoid that temptation and take a more objective view of Welsh life through his vast experience and knowledge of Welsh life, then the column will be an outstanding success.

One thing I am sure of is that there will be completely differing viewpoints from the Western Mail's two Saturday columnists when it comes to the state of the Welsh economy.

Should be fun!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I can't think of anything worst.

Rhodri is the most partisan politician in Wales (with the exception of Alun Davies) and his writing will be dripping with Labour bile.

Still, it may force Shipton to be less anti-tory in his writing although I doubt it.
June 19, 2010 11:18 am
Comrade Stalin said…
a dyed in the wool Labour man writing for a Labour supporting paper, i can't wait for his first column on pig iron and tractor production stats in the people's republic of Wales it should be gripping.
June 19, 2010 12:46 pm
Anonymous said…
Baited breath - not
June 19, 2010 6:37 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE CRACHACH

Unlike me, do you consider yourself part of 'the establishment' here in Wales?  As thousands gather for the Eisteddfod in Mold this morning, they will, according to some social commentators, not be participating in the greatest cultural festivals of Europe. Instead, they will merely be bit-part players in one of the annual gatherings of the great and good of Wales.  Unkindly, this set of the movers and shakers in Welsh society is known as 'the crachach' , and constitute a social class all of their own, dominating the educational, cultural and media sectors of Wales and allegedly looking down upon any outsider with new ideas, reinforcing mediocrity and failing to see beyond the limits of their own narrow experience.  They are said to live in a comfort zone that awaits the expected invitation to the next glass of chilled chardonnay and canapés, forgetting that due to their lack of leadership and drive, Wales remains firmly rooted to the bottom of the UK prosperity league ...
30 comments
Read more

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They ...
Read more

GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP MONITOR WALES 2022

How entrepreneurial is Wales? That is the question that the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) attempts to answer in its latest report which investigates those involved in early-stage entrepreneurship i.e. starting and managing a new business.  This year’s results show that the rate of total early-stage entrepreneurship (TEA) in Wales in 2021 was 10.3% as compared to 11.5% for the UK. This is significantly higher than the previous year (6.5%) and means that around 192,000 adults aged between 18 and 64 are involved in entrepreneurial activity in Wales.  Nearly three quarters are in the very early stages of starting a business and the rest involved in managing a new business aged between 4 and 42 months old.  This is an important finding as not only is the overall rate of entrepreneurial activity in Wales increasing but this is largely accounted for by those starting a business. In this respect, it is critical that the right support mechanisms are in place to ensu...
Read more