What is Proximities?
Proximities is a free newsletter that - every day - briefly draws your attention to three non-Western news stories. All too often, media that brands itself as international is nothing of the sort. News from a handful of nations dominates even as much 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 a (very small) attempt to break through that noise, highlight stories flying under the radar 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 a journalist. I’ve reported from Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Somalia, Libya and Iraq - mainly for Reuters and Al Jazeera. Right now, I’m deputy editor-in-chief of a news organization focused on human rights. You can find me on Twitter here: malonebarry.
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 saves them valuable time. Subscribe today to join a fast-growing community of more than 5,000 people including journalists, academics, politicians, news junkies and the generally curious.
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.
