09 April 2010
S4C’s 2010 General Election coverage will go to the heart of Welsh communities to tackle the issues that are relevant to people in Wales.
Under the Etholiad 2010 umbrella, the Channel’s team of presenters, commentators and reporters will travel the length and breadth of Wales to gauge the opinion of the electors and the politicians.
BBC Cymru Wales and ITV Cymru provide the coverage for S4C with a range of programmes that will focus on different areas, from Caernarfon and Ruthin in the north to Aberystwyth and Machynlleth in mid Wales and Llanelli and Pontypridd in the south.
Tweli Griffiths, S4C’s Content Editor Politics and Current Affairs says: “S4C puts a strong emphasis on the credibility, expertise and authority of its news and current affairs provision. Our team of journalists will provide the highest possible journalistic standards in our election coverage – and possess the necessary skills to ensure that the politicians answer the questions which are important to the voters.
“The coverage will go to the heart of our communities, dealing with the issues important to us all. They will be out there in the community to ensure the views of the people of Wales are fully represented in our programmes’”
The coverage starts on Monday, 12 April when political journalist Mai Davies takes the political pulse of west and mid Wales in Aberystwyth. Further programmes in the Etholiad 2010 will take Mai to Ruthin, Llanelli, Pontypridd, ending with a live audience programme in the Galeri Caernarfon.
Mai Davies, originally from Pembrey, near Llanelli, but now living in Swansea, has years of experience in political journalism and broadcasting and is a valuable addition to S4C’s quality line-up of broadcasters.
Mai Davies says: “This election is going to be the most interesting in a generation. The last time it was this close was over thirty years ago. No-one can predict which way it's going to go, so it'll be exciting right up until the last minute. It's going to be really interesting covering this election for S4C’s Etholiad 2010 as we'll be talking to floating voters and getting members or former MPs of each party to compile reports on the opposition.”
As well as covering a raft of stories at the start of the second week of campaigning, the Etholiad 2010 programme on Monday, 12 April will launch a series of reports where people who have been prominent in one party analyse the campaign of a party they have fought against in the past.
This feature starts in this programme with Plaid Cymru’s Dafydd Wigley taking a look at the Liberal Democrats’ campaign. The following programmes will see former Conservative Rod Richards analysing Plaid Cymru, Labour’s Betty Williams looking at the Tories' campaign and Liberal Democrat Ruth Parry considering the Labour campaign.
The coming weeks will also see three special election editions of Pawb a’i Farn when the politicians face the voters in Bethesda, Machynlleth and Pontardawe.
S4C’s news coverage Newyddion and politics show CF99 will also cover the election as part of an exhaustive coverage of the 2010 General Election.
S4C’s Etholiad 2010 coverage starts in Aberystwyth on Monday, 12 April, 9:30pm, S4C. English subtitles available. Full details of the line-up will be available on the S4C website, s4c.co.uk
