Dear Claire - We are traveling and I had only a few moments to glance at your survey, and decided I would prefer to respond when not time constrained. Now I have the time but it sounds like it’s too late to respond.
Okay, maybe email would be better, anyway. So here are a few comments totally off the cuff.
One assumes that the “Global” referred to in “Globalist” is meant seriously, therefore I do think you should try to expand your coverage. For the past few months, however (the entire length of time I have been a subscriber), much as I would like to read analysis and opinion concerning the challenges and achievements of Asian, African and South American democracy, my focus is on the war in Ukraine. I also like hearing analysis of US policy and its impact from knowledgeable American observers such yourself who can offer a European perspective on my own country’s affairs. You don’t need to cover every part of the world all the time: as you have said, others report the news, you provide the insight. There is only so much one can digest at a time, especially when reading online (it usually takes me several weeks to get through my weekly hard copy Economist so I am perpetually reading “news” in retrospect).
What appeals to me most about CG is getting short ( relatively speaking) and insightful commentary that helps make sense of the happenings of the day. If you have energy to publish daily, continue to do so.
Last, I am a subscriber because a friend who reads both more widely and deeply than I mentioned CG in an email. I have shared links with others who share similar interests.
Never too late. We take all these comments to heart--as people may have already noticed. I'm very glad you've been finding it useful, and yes, obviously when there's an event as cataclysmic and world-changing as the war in Ukraine, we'll focus on it. But we want our coverage not only to give our readers insight into what's happening, but what's coming down the pike. The war in Ukraine is going to cause knock-on crises almost everywhere in the world, for reasons many people aren't even thinking about now. (For example: Russia and Ukraine are the world's primary suppliers of certain rare raw materials required to make computer chips.) So while we're focusing on Ukraine right now, we also want our readers to be so well-informed by CG that they're not surprised when, for example, Latin America is destabilized as a direct consequence of the war in Ukraine.
As for analysis of the US, that's the one thing we've decided *not* to focus on, because there's so much of it in the rest of the English-language media--the US (and the UK, to an extent) is the only country that's not wildly under-served. Also, we want to stay as far from partisanship as possible, and right now, the US is so polarized that almost any discussion of US politics immediately involves the writer in the Great US Cold (or only intermittently hot) Civil War.
That said, the US remains the most significant player in the global economy, the biggest defense spender by far, and the country that still has the most ability to shape the international political and cultural landscape. So you may be right: We may need more coverage of the US. Without looking at the US, you can't fully understand what's happening elsewhere. So maybe we should increase our US coverage. Thanks for the suggestion.
Thank you, André! You should be subscribed for a year, now; do me a small favor and check to be sure you can see all the paywalled content, okay? If it works, no need to let me know, but I want to be sure I added you correctly, so if it doesn't work, tell me. So glad to have you on this ride with us; your support means everything.
Absolutely would be glad to have opportunities to Zoom (time zone permitting) to discuss shorter pieces of writing - several times I've thought individual articles have had enough substance for a discussion, and for the author to be part of discussion or even to "teach" their article would be great.
Great! The current book group is 4am Sunday here, so a bit later preferably! GMT 6pm-midnight and 10:30am-1pm are the times I am almost always free currently.
The super subscriber fundraiser ended on April 15th of last year. You might want to reopen the campaign, or set up a new one.
It did???
That’s what PayPal’s telling me.
Aha! That's the old fundraiser. Here's the right link: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8ItraTFn9Z
Dear Claire - We are traveling and I had only a few moments to glance at your survey, and decided I would prefer to respond when not time constrained. Now I have the time but it sounds like it’s too late to respond.
Okay, maybe email would be better, anyway. So here are a few comments totally off the cuff.
One assumes that the “Global” referred to in “Globalist” is meant seriously, therefore I do think you should try to expand your coverage. For the past few months, however (the entire length of time I have been a subscriber), much as I would like to read analysis and opinion concerning the challenges and achievements of Asian, African and South American democracy, my focus is on the war in Ukraine. I also like hearing analysis of US policy and its impact from knowledgeable American observers such yourself who can offer a European perspective on my own country’s affairs. You don’t need to cover every part of the world all the time: as you have said, others report the news, you provide the insight. There is only so much one can digest at a time, especially when reading online (it usually takes me several weeks to get through my weekly hard copy Economist so I am perpetually reading “news” in retrospect).
What appeals to me most about CG is getting short ( relatively speaking) and insightful commentary that helps make sense of the happenings of the day. If you have energy to publish daily, continue to do so.
Last, I am a subscriber because a friend who reads both more widely and deeply than I mentioned CG in an email. I have shared links with others who share similar interests.
Never too late. We take all these comments to heart--as people may have already noticed. I'm very glad you've been finding it useful, and yes, obviously when there's an event as cataclysmic and world-changing as the war in Ukraine, we'll focus on it. But we want our coverage not only to give our readers insight into what's happening, but what's coming down the pike. The war in Ukraine is going to cause knock-on crises almost everywhere in the world, for reasons many people aren't even thinking about now. (For example: Russia and Ukraine are the world's primary suppliers of certain rare raw materials required to make computer chips.) So while we're focusing on Ukraine right now, we also want our readers to be so well-informed by CG that they're not surprised when, for example, Latin America is destabilized as a direct consequence of the war in Ukraine.
As for analysis of the US, that's the one thing we've decided *not* to focus on, because there's so much of it in the rest of the English-language media--the US (and the UK, to an extent) is the only country that's not wildly under-served. Also, we want to stay as far from partisanship as possible, and right now, the US is so polarized that almost any discussion of US politics immediately involves the writer in the Great US Cold (or only intermittently hot) Civil War.
That said, the US remains the most significant player in the global economy, the biggest defense spender by far, and the country that still has the most ability to shape the international political and cultural landscape. So you may be right: We may need more coverage of the US. Without looking at the US, you can't fully understand what's happening elsewhere. So maybe we should increase our US coverage. Thanks for the suggestion.
I just subscribed via PayPal.
Thank you, André! You should be subscribed for a year, now; do me a small favor and check to be sure you can see all the paywalled content, okay? If it works, no need to let me know, but I want to be sure I added you correctly, so if it doesn't work, tell me. So glad to have you on this ride with us; your support means everything.
Absolutely would be glad to have opportunities to Zoom (time zone permitting) to discuss shorter pieces of writing - several times I've thought individual articles have had enough substance for a discussion, and for the author to be part of discussion or even to "teach" their article would be great.
Let's do it! What time and day would suit you?
Great! The current book group is 4am Sunday here, so a bit later preferably! GMT 6pm-midnight and 10:30am-1pm are the times I am almost always free currently.
We're planning this now. Stay tuned.