Being up to date with the news was a job requirement in my work as an Australian diplomat. I retired before the election of the reactionary Abbott government and predicted that if he were elected my friends and I would look back on the reactionary Howard years as a golden era. Alas, I was proved right.
Following the news during the Abbott regime became emotionally distressing. Disasters in other countries are quite different from disasters in my own. So I ditched the addiction. No newspapers, no magazines, no radio, no TV. I became the happiest among my friends, and a few followed my example.
One unintended consequence of my withdrawal was a feeling of isolation from the world, at first enjoyable but eventually intellectually and socially frustrating. So I compromised and subscribed to the Guardian Weekly, which I had previously read only casually.
What drew me to the Guardian was the breadth of its international, not just western, coverage; its meticulous avoidance of fake news before the term was invented; and most importantly its liberal views before the term became an insult.
Since subscribing I have discovered additional treasures such as the column that constantly changes my life and my favourite, the ever cranky Pedanticus. Thus the Guardian Weekly has reconnected me with the world and my friends.
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