The news brand appoints Bethan McKernan as Wales correspondent, as part of its ongoing commitment to deepen coverage outside London
McKernan, who returns from reporting in Jerusalem, is the first person to be dedicated to Welsh news in over a decade for the title.
Editor-in-chief Katharine Viner has focused on broadening the Guardian’s journalism outside the capital during her ten-year tenure.
As part of the ongoing commitment to provide coverage across the country, the Guardian in the UK has reporters based in Scotland, Manchester, the north-east, the Midlands, the south-west and now Wales. Will Hayward will also continue in his role as a regular Guardian columnist on Wales.
McKernan has anchored the Guardian’s reporting of the Middle East and the events that have unfolded in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories since the October 7 attacks. Having worked in the region for 10 years, her experience, judgment and contacts have been at the heart of the Guardian’s impressive and comprehensive journalism on a difficult and complex story.
Speaking of the appointment, editor-in-chief Katharine Viner said: “I’m delighted that the Guardian is to have our first Wales correspondent in many years, and that someone of Bethan’s calibre will be in the role. Expanding our coverage of Wales is part of our ongoing commitment to increasing on-the-ground reporting across the UK: we now cover Britain outside of London much more fully, with journalists based in Scotland, Manchester, the north-east, the Midlands, the south-west and now Wales.
“We believe we have a responsibility to understand local communities and report on the issues that impact them, which often differ significantly from those facing Londoners. Wales is a crucial part of the British story, as well as having a distinct identity, politics and culture of its own, and Bethan could not be better placed to report on it.”
