What is Proximities?
Proximities is a newsletter that briefly highlights three non-Western news stories a day. All too often, media that brands itself as international is nothing of the sort. News from a handful of nations dominates even as more important, more consequential, stories are developing elsewhere. Outlets with a pretense of being global would rather spend all day talking about a controversial tweet than about an explosion in Mogadishu. Our social feeds are dominated by rancor rather than reporting. Controversy drowns out facts. "Content" drowns out insight. The rich drown out the poor. And the West drowns out everywhere else.
This is an attempt to break through that noise, highlight under-reported stories and counteract the dominance of Western news. Think of it as a daily jumping off point for you to dig into some of the things happening around the world.
My name is Barry Malone and I’m an independent journalist. I’ve reported from Ethiopia, Uganda, DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Somalia, Libya and Iraq - mainly for Reuters and Al Jazeera. I’ve directed coverage of major international news stories as a former Managing Editor of Al Jazeera Digital and former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. I also spent almost five years as the Executive Producer of Al Jazeera’s flagship talkshow, The Stream.
Why subscribe?
Readers say Proximities has opened their eyes to stories they were unaware of, that it has broadened their perspectives and that its brevity (it can be read in under two minutes) saves them valuable time. Subscribe today to join a fast-growing community of more than 7,000 readers including journalists, academics, politicians, news junkies and the generally curious.
I’d be happy if you signed up for free but becoming a paid subscriber helps me fund other projects I have in the works, aimed at amplifying under-reported stories. Paid subscribers get my gratitude and an extra post on Saturdays that’s longer and more conversational than the weekday edition.
Testimonials from subscribers
Proximities has also been chosen as one of Substack’s featured publications.
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prox·im·i·ty /präkˈsimədē/ noun /1. nearness in space, time, or relationship.
