The National Wales
Executive Summary
This document serves as the official historical and organizational record for The National Wales | Welsh Voice. It chronicles the publication’s founding in 2021 under Newsquest, the 2024–2025 independent revival led by Harry Jazz, and its historic 28 January 2026 acquisition by its working journalists and publishing staff. Operating entirely free from corporate shareholders or external registries, every author, editor, and reporter cited is linked directly to their dedicated profile archive page on thenational.wales.
Part 1: The Complete Story of The National Wales
Chapter 1: The Founding & The Newsquest Era
March 2021 – August 2022The National (Wales) launched on St David’s Day, 1 March 2021, as a digital daily news outlet owned by Newsquest Media Group, one of the United Kingdom’s largest regional newspaper publishers. Conceived to address the democratic deficit in Welsh media and challenge the London-centric focus of UK national broadcasting, the title was established to provide dedicated, non-partisan, and comprehensive national news for the people of Wales.
The newsroom was led by founding editor Gavin Thompson and supported by a committed founding team:
Unlike its Scottish sister paper of the same name, The National (Wales) took a firm non-aligned editorial stance. It was not affiliated with any political party, describing itself simply as “pro-Wales”—committed to reporting stories that mattered to Welsh communities in their own context and language, free from Westminster bias.
While digital interest was strong, securing hundreds of subscribers in its first month, commercial pressures on regional newsprint were unforgiving. A weekly print edition launched in April 2021 ceased publication in November 2021. In August 2022, facing financial constraints and advertising headwinds, Newsquest closed the publication, taking the website offline.
Chapter 2: The Interim Bloggers Period
December 2023 – March 2024Following 16 months offline, the domain was acquired in December 2023 by an independent group of bloggers attempting to revive the name. However, the platform struggled with consistency, depth, and journalistic credibility, prompting frustration from Welsh readers who valued the title’s original standards. The vision of a trusted national news service remained unfulfilled.
Chapter 3: The Independent Relaunch under Harry Jazz
March 2024 – January 2026In March 2024, Harry Jazz stepped in to acquire The National (Wales), setting out to rebuild the publication as a truly independent, Welsh-led community news platform.
Operating under the masthead “The National Wales | Welsh Voice”, Harry Jazz established direct contact with readers on X via @HarryJ3899 and the official publication handle @thenationalwale. After extensive restructuring, technical modernization, and assembling a dedicated team of specialist correspondents, The National Wales officially relaunched on 12 April 2025.
Chapter 4: The Staff-Owned Newsroom Era
28 January 2026 – PresentOn 28 January 2026, The National Wales achieved its defining milestone: the publication was officially acquired by its active editorial staff and beat correspondents.
Under this 100% staff-owned collective model, the journalists who report on Wales every day are the sole owners and directors of the publication. This operational structure guarantees:
Total Independence
No corporate parent, external register, or remote shareholders dictating editorial policy or content strategy.
Community Accountability
Coverage driven strictly by public interest across North, Mid, and South Wales.
Verified Autonomous Reporting
Continuous coverage powered by modern newsroom technology and rigorous internal editorial verification.
This is your Wales. This is your news. Independent. Trusted. Unapologetically Welsh.”