Subscriber The start of the new year has not been the most auspicious, nationally and globally, with the manifest failure of the United States, the further clamp down on democratic processes from the Chinese government in Hong Kong, the continuation of Israeli and Iranian warfare in Syria and surrounding regions. 

In addition, the slow-motion explosion that is Brexit has rolled on, the UK government that came to power just over a year ago has taken every opportunity to demonstrate its incompetence and corruption, and the mainstream media has continued to side with the powerful over the marginalised. And then there’s the elephant in every room – the Covid-19 pandemic, including the new lockdown measures, which has pushed many of the institutions we rely on to breaking point, revealing just how little many governments care about the lives of their more vulnerable citizens.

In light of this, it has been particularly difficult to find a positive angle from which to look back on 2020, or forward to 2021.

There have been some major milestones for our publication, too.

In August 2020, we were able to finalise our registration as a workers’ co-operative: The Norwich Radical now has a more democratic decision making process, belongs entirely to its membership, and exists as a legal entity – granting us easier access to funding and support in our ongoing mission to create a better media landscape.

We were surprisingly prescient in putting our annual conference – War of Words – on hiatus for 2020 long before any external factors would have forced us to do so, and it looks we’ll be extending the hiatus for another year at least. We will be back, do not doubt that, as soon as it is safe for all involved to organise and participate.

We have recruited a new editor, are currently looking for a new artist or two, and will be expanding our contributor team yet again in the coming months as well. Media monoliths like the BBC, the Guardian and the Times, along with the regular offenders in the right-wing media, have been nurturing a toxic environment for people of marginalised identities – the trans community and ethnic minorities in particular. More must be done to allow those affected to speak for themselves and eschew the ‘debate’ entirely, creating new platforms, new media, and new channels to question the media that act as instruments of power.

In the face of all this, attempting to pick out the little positives to build a message of hope feels, perhaps, a little disingenuous, or disrespectful to those who have suffered or died. We all need positivity to some extent, obviously: if you’re reading this, you made it through, and a vaccine is on its way to most of us – but we must also avoid tens of thousands of deaths (in the UK alone) being brushed under the carpet.

While so many outlets rush to put 2020 behind us, looking to earn sales and clicks by commodifying hope, we must remember that this is still a time of grief and struggle. Take time to acknowledge and process that. Look after yourself, look after each other, and remember that, however isolated you may feel, you are never alone.

In solidarity,

The Norwich Radical Editorial Team

Top 10 Published Articles in 2020 Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list