Weekend magazine, Western Mail
Western Mail / Media Wales
Take Lucy John’s expose on escalating cocaine use, as she spoke to addicts and bereaved families. Other hard-hitting examples include Ffion Lewis’ on domestic violence, for which she spent days attending specialist court hearings and talking to survivors to report the true scale, and Ffion and Reem Ahmed’s focus on homelessness and the cost-of-living crisis. All exemplify Weekend’s magazine’s ability to do important journalistic justice to major issues across Wales. Laura Clements’ cover on how one coastal village takes a revolutionary approach to how health and social care is delivered and Ryan O’Neill’s charming feature on how one hamlet has finally won Wales in Bloom after years of trying underline the attention given to community immersion. And our journalists conduct in-depth, exclusive interviews with people that fascinate. Take the Stereophonics’ Kelly Jones on his father-like relationship with Sir Tom Jones, Hollywood star Luke Evans and singer Charlotte Church (plus an exclusive review of her new retreat). There are more fascinating interviews with incredible people from all walks of life who may not usually get the recognition they deserve - such as writer Eric Ngalle Charles, the sea-swimming Bluetits, the sisters restoring Henry II’s castle birthplace, and Maria Leijerstam, the world-record holding businesswoman. There is a heavy, in-depth sport presence to feed one of our readership’s favourite obsessions with features on the Class of ‘58 as Wales headed to Qatar, and the class of every previous Rugby World Cup as Wales headed to France. Plus covers on Wrexham’s new glory, Wales’ most successful sportswomen on equality, Wales’ rugby women ahead of their bid for Six Nations glory and Sir Gareth Edwards on THAT try. The 64-page magazine also gives opportunity to showcase opinions on talking points that impact on Wales today, plus Welsh language articles. Columnists such as top ref Nigel Owens, Professor Laura McAllister, Lynne Barrett-Lee, our Welsh affairs editor Will Hayward, Ceri Gould Thomas, Lefi Gruffudd and Sara Robinson all add to the magazine’s thought-provoking appeal. We are also proud to invest in annual pillar features such as the much-anticipated annual Pinc List each, a trailblazer for Wales’ LGBT+ community which has been replicated elsewhere. Plus our varied arts, culture, literary and culinary coverage is the go-to for information, reviews and interviews about creativity across the nation. Our new Wales Arts Review collaboration to help promote the nation’s writers, plus the reverse publication of Sam Cook’s celebrity podcasts highlight both editorial innovation. And if there are great images from events such as Ironman Wales, the National Eisteddfod, Wales at various World Cups, Cardiff Half, our archives and the natural world - we will showcase them.