I started reading the Guardian Weekly in the mid-80s, when a hand-down group reading the New Statesman folded. My subscription soon topped another hand-down group, once stretching to four, but now only to my spouse. I liked reading the often different points of view when the Weekly was organised under its three mastheads (Guardian, Le Monde and Washington Post) – especially memorable during the first Gulf war. Since then, it has been trickier noting the different perspectives on the world, but the quality and variety of world coverage are still impressive.
I follow the conventional approach of reading front-to-back (“news”, already a bit dated in a weekly, can get old fast) and I read almost everything. My library is heavily influenced by GW book reviews, and my fantasies about being wealthy revolve around the desire to flit over to London or Paris for the latest play or museum exhibit reviewed in the paper.
Since I have never lived outside Alberta, Canada, I owe much of my worldview to the Guardian Weekly, which has probably also contributed to my love of travelling. I am always impressed by how often GW seems to lead other media in highlighting important stories.
My spouse and I often turn to each other at the beginning of a CBC news item and say, “They’ve been reading the Guardian again.”
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