Like the development from feeding leafy spheres to the dog under the table, to that fateful moment…read morewhen you first choose to buy the Brussels with your own money, Sprout magazine is thoroughly part of the rite of passage of growing up. Full of discussions about body image, sexuality and school, it is the perfect place for young adults to voice their concerns and opinions with the result being the generation of some rather moving stuff. Meetings are held in Central Library where free tea and biscuits help generate dynamic discussions about the future of the print publication and the website. Contributors' opinions are sought at every point, so if you're in your teens you have the power to make this yours. Marketed as a magazine written by and for those aged 11-25, Sprout is best suited for those 16 and under. Like the toy adverts that use teenagers to make Barbie look cool, Sprout may be over-stretching the mark here. Nevertheless, if you are a young writer who wants the opportunity to go to events for free and exercise your critical mind, this is an excellent service. URBAN CHALLENGE: Blog about something on thesprout.co.uk

I love The Big Issue! I love everything it stands for and everything that it does! Not only does it…read morehelp unfortunate people get their lives back on track, but the magazine itself is a really useful resource, offering really insightful editorial, a healthy 'what's on' section and a plethora of jobs (usually for the caring trades and charities). When I'm in Cardiff I tend to buy my copy from Daniel, a Romanian father of two, who has been selling The Big Issue just outside Cardiff Central Station for the last two years. You'll find him quite close to the national Express offices and charity shops as you round the corner off Wood Street. These days he says that sales are significantly down, and only manages to sell about six or seven copies a day. With a wife and two children to feed, clothe and house, this is clearly not enough! He's resorted to borrowing from friends over the last few months. I used to know what proportion of the sale price the vendor retains. I think it's around a pound, with a cover price of £1.70. Sellers need to buy the magazines up front, and can return unsold issues with a refund. This avoids any abuse of the system, and helps the drug addicts invest in something a little more constructive. Head office 1-5 Wandsworth RoadVauxhall LondonSW8 2LN

Written by professional journalists and sold by homeless people, the Big Issue Cymru has excellent…read moreintentions. It aims to give the homeless a way of earning an income without simply begging, helping them save enough to get themselves into more stable housing situations, and then assimilate back into mainstream society. It also has a support and counselling arm, helping vendors with a whole host of physical and mental health issues. The publication itself is well-written, and while you might not be interested in every news story or feature, it does cover a good variety of social and environmental issues. I have one big problem with the Big Issue Cymru, though: why do I still see the same vendors on the streets of Cardiff now that were selling the magazine a decade ago? I know some of their faces from when I did work experience there, and I have bought the magazine from many of them over the years, yet still they are on the streets, selling the magazines, and not moving on into permanent housing and a brighter future. I wonder if after a while they start to feel safe being part of a community of Big Issue sellers, and their homeless status is normalised so that they get 'stuck' in that rut rather than moving on? And that surely goes against the aims of the venture. I hope that statistically the majority do move on from being Big Issue sellers, and that it's just a minority that get stuck in this way.

I agree that Buzz is a great magazine for finding out what's what in Cardiff. My only real problem…read moreis that is quite difficult to come by. Lucky then they have a website with all the same information, plus they have a twitter feed so you can keep really up to date on whats going on. Its not a cheap looking magazine, whoever makes it really puts a lot of effort into it. I wish Cardiff had those magazine boxes on the streets that they have in London so I could get it easier.

Buzz Magazine is quite an achievement considering that it is practically run by volunteers and, as…read morefar as I'm aware, pretty much on a shoestring. It is a 'What's On' for South Wales, but somewhat unsurprisingly, for this Cardiff based magazine, Cardiff listings tend to dominate the publication. Of course, the fact that South Wales doesn't have another city anywhere near the scale of Cardiff is another reason why it features so prominently. I have been consistently amazed by Buzz. Their listings are accurate, their features are well researched and well written, and their website is packed full of info and regularly updated. I don't know how they do it! The best thing about Buzz is that it's free. You can pick up a copy from loads of places around the city of Cardiff, but it's not so easy to find places that stock it further afield. Art Centres tend to be a sure bet. I even found a copy at the Art Centre in Pontardawe. Impressive!

The pound shop in Queen street Cardiff is wondrous place . How can they make a profit on the things…read morethey sell ? It is a treasure trove of mostly everything you could want from cosmetics to tools for the workshop. You name it and it is a good guess that they have it somewhere in the store , All of which are one ( sometimes two) for a pound It is a large store and almost always overcrowded . Watch your pockets and handbags otherwise your purchase may not be such a bargain ! The tills at the pay station ring continuously. As an example of cost saving I priced a halogen bulb for my reading lamp in a well known Cardiff electrical shop ( no I will not give the name ! ) the price quoted was £2. 50 for one. I thought this was too expensive as it was not a top of the range lamp. In the pound store I purchased an identical bulb for an amazing four on a card for a pound . And I guess they sell the cheapest sugar than any supermarket. There are other bargains to sizeable to detail. If you are looking for a good buy this is the store to visit.

Wales' first and only environmental and ethical living magazine hit the streets of South Wales last…read moreweek. Green Matters Wales is a new quarterly publication that tackles the issues of climate change and fair trade and shows people how they can make a huge positive impact on the environment without having to make life-changing sacrifices. Coinciding with Wales formally being proclaimed the world's first Fairtrade nation, the launch of Green Matters Wales magazine reflects the growing concerns that people have about ethical consumerism and environmental issues. The magazine will offer thought-provoking editorial, topical discussions and lifestyle commentary on the environmental and ethical issues affecting us all: from the cars we drive or the origins of the food we eat, to how we can be greener in the office. By being 'lifestyle' based, Green Matters Wales aims to help people understand how climate change and ethical consumerism affects their daily lives and, most importantly, how they can make effective changes. A report conducted by the Fraser Consultancy found that: 3 out of 5 consumers in the UK do not feel that they have enough information to make informed ethical decisions . And that's where Green Matters Wales should fill the gap. It will cover: food and drink, health and beauty, money, news, eco-fashion, recycling, travel and transport all with an environmental and ethical perspective. The first issue of Green Matters Wales features an exclusive interview with the UK's leading environmental figure - Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association. Mr Holden described the magazine as an absolutely brilliant idea in a recent interview for the launch issue, in which he talks about Wales' growing love for organic food, the looming peak oil crisis, and why we should all be thinking globally but act locally. Issue One also features an interview with Jane Davidson, Minister for the Environment for the Welsh Assembly Government. Green Matters Wales is freely available at various locations throughout the region and can also be downloaded online at http://www.greenmatterswales.com An initiative like this one deserves everybody's support!

The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff and distributed throughout…read morethe South Wales region. It belongs to the Trinity Mirror group, the UK's largest newspaper company, and has been published since 1884. Each day there are actually two editions published - what's referred to as 'News Extra' for morning buyers, and 'City Final' for the evening readers. There is also a weekend edition published every Saturday. It has a much more local feel to it than the Western Mail, which covers news and features across Wales, and a lot of the news really isn't that gripping. I can't say I ever buy this newspaper - but if I find a copy on the train I'll have a flick through and find a few interesting local news articles.

The South Wales Echo is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Cardiff, Wales and distributed…read morethroughout the surrounding area. Founded in 1884, the newspaper is published by Media Wales Ltd (formerly Western Mail & Echo Ltd), part of the Trinity Mirror group. In 2008 Media Wales moved into from Thompson House to Park Street, next to the Millennium Stadium. It is a good source of local news, sport, business and entertainment for the Diff, leaving all-Wales coverage to The Western Mail. The writing isn't astoundingly brilliant, but for a quick catch up on your local vicinity you can flick through it over a cuppa and it'll only set you back a little shrapnel. You can also read articles from the Echo on Wales Online (http://www.walesonline.co.uk/).

City Life is a similar magazine in some respects to Cardiff Life in that it caters for the higher…read moreend of the market in both editorial and advertising. However, there are some very distinct differences. For one, City Life is free... (although, so is Cardiff Life essentially... if you read the advertisers section you'll realise that it's delivered to 7k homes for free and then given to a further 3k establishments around the city... they have a production run of 10k). City Life Magazine is also produced in Cardiff... check out the three line address! There's three Cardiff's in there... one for each line! The ethos of City Life is also a bit more transparent... they use a William Foster quote to sum it up: Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

Back when I about 16 I did a couple of weeks work experience and the Western Mail and it great to…read moreget an inside look at whats goes on there. So I guess the Western Mail is the Welsh equivalent of a tabloid paper. It covers all the national news as well as Welsh stories and gossip so its a good combination really. Everyday it has a different section for education, style, whats on and the very important jobs section on Thursday's! If your into any of the local rugby teams then this is probably the only paper that has a lot of rugby coverage.

Distributed across the whole of Wales (although with limited circulation in North Wales), the…read moreWestern Mail is as far as I know Wales's only national daily tabloid newspaper. It's largely in English rather than Welsh, with lots of 'home' news, features and opinion columns. It's owned by the UK's largest newspaper company, Trinity Mirror and has been published since 1869. It used to be in broadsheet format, but switched in 2004 to a compact. Both the newspaper and its corresponding website offer good coverage of things going on in Wales, and it's very popular amongst business people looking for a new job (check the Jobs pages every Thursday) or who just want to keep on top of news within their industry and from their competitors. Weekend papers - as is the case with London-based national newspapers - contain far more sports coverage and arts and lifestyle features such as travel, fashion and events.

Media Wales publishes the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday, Celtic Newspapers and…read moreWalesOnline.co.uk, and so is pretty much responsible for all of the daily local news for the area. As with most regional newspapers these days, they have a strong on-line presence, and solicit as much feedback as possible in the form of blogs etc. A lot of the content to be found in the printed papers can be found on their website. Full classified listings are covered, including job vacancies, making it much easier to process applications, clicking a link rather than following more conventional routes.

Situated in the town centre of Cardiff round the corner from the train and bus station, on a side…read morestreet. All the local news and gossip comes from and news from further afield. I did work experience of being stuck on a computer and was left to it. They did not teach about the publishing world and how their company world works, nor did they set me any small tasks or get anything published. As friendly enough as they were; since losing many people staff wise, because of money and the recession in the last year or so, there staff were working one person, per two person's worth of jobs. I was in the features department, but I think I should have been in another department; however by email I was not told I could have a choice of a department to do work experience in. The Wales Media company in general is pretty good though because they write many different local magazine and tourist information and brochures. The company work hard and they produce first class writing. Overall I recommend it to all budding Writers to try and do work experience in and Journalists.