5 Tachwedd 2020

With greater emphasis than ever on news and social media, S4C and ITV Wales are again supporting a journalist training scheme to create content for the digital platform, Hansh.

The innovative scheme, a partnership between S4C and ITV, is running for a third year and is part of S4C's commitment to give people who are under-represented in the sector the opportunity to work in the field.

Both trainee journalists will gain experience working on the current affairs programmes ITV creates for S4C, such as Y Byd ar Bedwar and Y Byd yn ei Le. They will also learn to create short-form current affairs content for the Hansh Dim Sbin audience across social media.

Lloyd Lewis and Maia Davies are the two who have won their place on this year's training scheme – from a field of over 90 applicants. Both will appear on Hansh's pages, breaking new stories and aiming to spark a conversation about current affairs and political issues among the younger audience.

Lloyd, 24, originally from Cwmbran, is looking forward to pursuing his ambitions of developing a career in the field after completing a degree in English Literature, Media and Journalism:

"This scheme is an amazing opportunity to get a better idea of the industry and gain invaluable experiences that will ultimately enable me to build a successful career."

One of the things that matters to Lloyd is ensuring a fair representation of the country as it is today:

"I think it is vital to give a representation of modern Wales and its richness of cultures, so for me, I'd like to see better representation of different ethnicities in our social content, which in turn will increase our audience base."

As a former Wales seven-a-side rugby player, who now plays for Pontypool Rugby Club, sport is especially of interest to him:

"I think there is a huge opportunity to create more sports-related content on platforms like Hansh, increasing our audience base further."

Maia has recently graduated from Cambridge University and was an editor of student newspaper Varsity. She is looking forward to training as a journalist in such a unique time for journalism in Wales.

21-year-old Maia, originally from Cardiff, said:

"This year has been an eye opener to the importance of journalism in trying to ensure that Wales is at the centre of the stories, and not a footnote.

"When reading about Covid-19, there has been a real need to think critically about the relevance of the news we read to Wales - and that's for the first time for many, I'm sure. "

According to Maia, the increasing emphasis on digital news is crucial to reaching the younger audience, and she praises Hansh Dim Sbin's work for sharing information with that audience in a mature and unique way while understanding those issues important to them:

"No other news platform in Wales - in Welsh or English - does this" says Maia, "and I'm looking forward to trying to establish the platform further."

Now established for three years, Hansh is a digital platform targeting the audience aged 16-34. With original content, often full of humour and banter, appearing on the platform daily, this scheme will offer viewers a different kind of material.

Rhodri ap Dyfrig, S4C's Online Content Commissioner, said:

"We are delighted to be able to extend this scheme again this year after the success of recent years.

"The four individuals who have participated in the training scheme to date have gone on to work in the field of journalism in full-time jobs, which demonstrates its value to the sector and to the individuals.

"Providing a platform for contemporary journalism and the views of young people on what is happening in the world around them is an important addition to Hansh, and a place to develop completely contemporary techniques for discussing issues in Wales and the world."

Phil Henfrey, Head of News and Programmes at ITV Wales, said:

"ITV Wales plays a fundamental role in providing reliable Welsh language news and current affairs to audiences and we are very excited to be working with S4C once again on this innovative scheme to reach younger audiences on new platforms through the medium of Welsh."

"Maia and Lloyd will be working alongside an extremely talented and passionate current affairs team and will bring a fresh perspective and voice to help attract new audiences to our attention on Welsh issues."

Maia and Lloyd will begin their work in November 2020.