WalesOnline
We created visually stunning work on a purpose-built platform to tell the stories of families who lost relatives to Covid now campaigning for an inquiry, and April Jones’ story in the words of those at its heart, which took a year to execute. We set out why a Welsh Covid inquiry was needed (yet strongly resisted) and how Wales missed out on £5bn of HS2 public money. Hard-hitting exclusives included the sudden deaths of a Cardiff family abroad, and the man whose family died of Covid after reading misinformation. Local exclusives included exposing conditions at a care home forcing out residents, and a forgotten Cardiff landfill contaminating a river. Powerful interviews included a pregnant woman having sex on the street to survive; and a woman raped by her babysitter (also told through native video on social media). We covered every minute of several high-profile murder trials including a boy killed by family members and a psychiatrist murdered in a park, overturning reporting restrictions on those responsible. We uncovered fascinating but unknown people, like the council estate boy who founded a crisps empire. Diversity and inclusion is integral, launching the regional media’s only D&I Awards and having Wales’ only reporter for the LGBT community. Footballer Jess Fishlock called our committed women’s sport coverage highlighting overlooked athletes “unbelievable work, without you our job and visibility is so much harder”. Our reputation for sports interviews is unrivalled, detailing the Welsh men’s rugby captain’s fight for his career and a bare-knuckle boxer’s brutal reality. We drove the agenda on big issues like poor crowds and alcohol in rugby, and the mass cull of players from professional clubs and its real-life impact. We explored real issues affecting readers, like villages where second homeowners force out Welsh-speaking locals, published in Welsh. The reality of a struggling NHS we covered through a son whose mother died waiting for an ambulance and a woman who spent six days in an A&E chair. Expert photography elevated our journalism, whether reporting from low-income communities faced with rising costs and benefit cuts or bringing to life the reality of children raised in poverty in the shadow of Wales’ greatest wealth. Communities rely on our live reporting. We were in a fuel protester’s lorry as they ground the M4 to a halt, our live coverage read 200,000 times. Our local election coverage, spanning 143 stories including tailored results for 22 councils, was read 1.07m times. When a riot erupted in Swansea, reporters and editors covered it live late into the night long before others arrived.