The National Union of Journalists has called for action in a submission to a Welsh Assembly inquiry, which opened with claims that the media industry is in "severe crisis" which "threatens" the future of its newspapers.
The submission, which was made to the inquiry established this year to look at "the future outlook for the media in Wales", outlines the most recent cuts taking place at a number of media outlets in the country, claiming more than 2,000 jobs have gone in the last 20 years.
Discussing the newspaper market in particular the union raises concerns of a "dangerous decline".
"It seems inevitable that further losses – of jobs, offices and titles – will occur. We believe this is a serious threat to Welsh democracy. Without a vigorous press, based in the communities they serve, fulfilling its essential role of holding the powerful to account, the functioning of that democracy will be seriously compromised."
Looking across the media spectrum the NUJ adds in a release that "overwhelmingly, decisions about the future of Welsh media ... are being made by chief executives based outside of Wales and government ministers in Westminster".
"... Recognising the important role that newspapers play in Welsh democracy, we believe the Welsh media and its journalists should be seen as community and national assets.
"Their fate should be seen as too important to be left solely to the whim of media groups and chief executives from outside of Wales."
The submission adds that freelancers are also feeling the pinch, and are "in the context of the industry itself shrinking".
"Large sections of the freelance sector are now effectively under-employed if not unemployed for considerable periods."
As part of its nine-page submission the union makes a series of recommendations, including "an overhaul of print and broadcasting media", more training for news organisations and for Welsh-language TV channel S4C to be taken out of the Public Bodies bill.
In October 2010 culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced plans to give ministers power to modify S4C's funding arrangements, achieved by removing the link to the Retail Price Index in the Public Bodies bill, which had previously given S4C an inflation-linked increase in funding each year.
In March this year an amendment to the bill calling for S4C to be removed was defeated by 197 votes to 162 and in October the BBC Trust, the department for culture, media and sport, and the S4C Authority announced they had reached an agreement on the future funding and governance of S4C.
"We feel the Assembly and Welsh government must seriously address these issues," the union concluded in its submission.
"They must pull together an accurate picture of the state of the Welsh media and ensure that appropriate actions to address its decline are urgently found."
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