Labour M.P.s say TWW 'trivial'

DAILY TELEGRAPH REPORTER
There was some blame and praise for Television West and Wales yesterday. The decision to end the TWW contract is likely not to be regretted much by Welsh Labour M.P.s.

Yesterday, Mr. Ness Edwards, the member for Caerphilly, said he thought TWW had failed to take full advantage at their contract. Mr. Edwards is chairman of the Radio and Television panel of the Welsh Parliamentary Labour group.

The panel, he said, had expressed its views in January to Mr. Lyn Evans, representative for Wales and the West of England of the ITA. "We considered the content of much of TWW programmes was trivial." Edwards told me. "Anything serious, in our view, was being transmitted in minimum viewing periods at late hours."

'Very good service’

The Dean of Llandaff, the Very Rev. Eryl S. Thomas, said "My impression is that TWW have given a very good service, particularly on the religious side."

Dr. Maldwyn Edwards, chairman of Cardiff and Swansea district of the Methodist church, said: "I think TWW have done a reasonably good job"

A TWW spokesman said last night: "The Board of TWW met today and decided that they would continue to serve the area until July, 1968, just as conscientiously as they have done in the past 10 years.

"They are well aware of the difficulty that this will entail, but feel sure that their very loyal staff will continue to help. The board feel unable to accept the decision of the ITA as final, and are making further urgent representations in the matter."

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It is remarkable how much this country has changed in very little time.  In 30 years, priests and lay clergy have gone from being important figures in the community into being - for the vast majority - irrelevant at best and rent-a-quote at worse.

Yet the Telegraph is dragging these men of the book on to its pages not because they are a cheap and easy quote (though this was as true then as it is now about any semi-prominent local personality) but because the people of Britain respected the opinions of and required the wisdom from men of cloth.

Unfortunately, if the Telegraph was trying to make a particular point about the 'injustice' done to TWW and Lord Derby, they have failed.  The distinctly lukewarm praise - sounding like it comes from people who have watched little or no television since its arrival in the valleys - seems more damning than the apparently intended defence of the company.

But what these men said was true.  TWW was indeed a safe pair of hands for Wales and the west; reasonably good, non-controversial, unchallenging.  Harlech was none of these things.  But nobody likes change, and the people of Wales - a passionate, strong-minded people quite different from the English - would grow increasingly annoyed at having a change thrust upon them.

However, by 1970, all but a select few broadcasting enthusiasts had forgotten poor TWW - the first company to lose its contract outright.