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Lightweight plastic pellets or ‘nurdles’ washing up in Tregantle Cove in Cornwall.
Lightweight plastic pellets or ‘nurdles’ washing up in Tregantle Cove in Cornwall. Several readers who responded want the Guardian to focus more on marine plastics pollution. Photograph: Tracey Williams/PA
Lightweight plastic pellets or ‘nurdles’ washing up in Tregantle Cove in Cornwall. Several readers who responded want the Guardian to focus more on marine plastics pollution. Photograph: Tracey Williams/PA

Readers' hopes for 2018: what would you like us to cover this year?

This article is more than 6 years old

Last week we asked some of our writers to tell us what they hope to cover in 2018. This week we put the question to our supporters


We asked the Guardian’s supporters around the world to reflect on what you hope to make space for in 2018: the causes and values that you want to prioritise, and what you would most like to see our journalism focusing on in the year to come. Here’s what you said.

With the windfall of the Panama Papers I feel it is so important we keep up the pressure on “offshore”. It is so pervasive and destructive of so many areas of our lives. Health, education, security, justice to name but a few – it is a blight that undermines so many of our services that are fundamental to maintaining our society and our lives. Paul Daly, Leeds, UK

Don’t let the immediate news get in the way of the important! On the environment, continue the fossil fuel disinvestment campaign – report on who is still investing. Continue the plastic pollution campaign – who are worst offenders? Don’t forget the environment elsewhere, like the Amazon. Start a campaign to reduce beef consumption.

On politics, try to avoid giving Trump the publicity he seems to crave. Minimise coverage of royal marriages. Campaign on equal rights. Keep an eye on local government, as well. Finally, please try to cover good news stories regularly. Steve Miall, Cheshire, UK

Open-mindedness is the most important value for 2018, both personally and in the ways I interact with the world – including absorbing the Guardian.

The lesson that reading independent media sources teaches us – if we have ears to listen – is that there is rarely one interpretation of anything and even more rarely is the most popular interpretation closest to the truth.

I want to read about “real” news; not the clickbait that the rich and powerful would prefer me to read. And I want to make up my own mind in a fully informed manner. Liz Garson, New Zealand

I’m making space for all things vegan, which is the new big thing. You could run a vegan diary from someone having a go – not a seasoned vegan. Keep it simple and fun! If it’s funny, people will like it. Madeleine Masterson, Scarborough, UK

Grilled cauliflower steaks with herbs and spices. What’s it like to go vegan? Photograph: Getty/iStockphoto

In 2018, I would like the Guardian to stay focused on the quality of its content – mixing good writing with insightful topics, serious or light. Please keep analysing the facts, roots and trends of the diverging sociopolitical paths at play in this world – populism and nationalism vs solidarity and openness – obviously while showing the second way. Philippe Bagot, France

I have followed for a long time the issue of migration, and I’m personally involved as an activist in an organisation in Rome through which, in two years, more than 70,000 migrants have passed. I would like the theme of communication on migration to be tackled. We are in a historical phase in which opinions are polarised and we are seeing a growing drift towards fascism. What can the media do to create a bridge and stimulate a serious debate based on facts and not on opinions for or against migrants? Giampiero Obiso, Italy

I would like to see a focus on debating an alternative to our current economic and political models. How do we make politics more relevant and engage more people and what can we do to make a fairer economic system that rewards success without increasing inequality? Bernard Maher, Leeds, UK

What I particularly appreciate about the Guardian is the commentary from the readership, many of whom are quite learned and insightful. That should be defended and expanded, as it allows all of us an opportunity to participate in a wider (global) community, even if we disagree with one another, especially on controversial “hot topics.” If I could make one suggestion, it is even more emphasis on economic inequality and class differences (especially the ever-growing divide in the US). Gary P Supanich, Michigan, US

How about inviting expats in Europe to tell their story of how they have integrated into local communities while sharing their talents and expertise?

I have been living in a small village in the Dordogne for the last three years, where I have started a local theatre group. The local talent has been brought from knowing nothing of stagecraft to presenting pieces by Molière and Chekhov. It hasn’t always been plain sailing. Now, however, with dogged “the show must go on” determination, we have a succès fou.

This isn’t to push any agenda: rather, I want to point out that there are fascinating and positive stories to tell regarding expats living in different parts of Europe. Many expats make huge contributions, their efforts greatly valued. Human success stories make super copy. Carol Warner, Faux, France

A dormouse feeding on blackberries. Photograph: Frank Hecker/Alamy

Please write more about the terrible demise of nature. I live in the English countryside and three decades ago I would see toads, frogs, bats, hedgehogs, dormice, weasels, plus vast numbers of flies, moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and other insects. Now they are nearly all gone. We cannot survive this onslaught for much longer. Please write more on this. Dr Geoff Meaden, Kent, UK


As we face many challenges in these times, some topics get more press coverage than others. While Brexit and the NHS are rightly given top coverage, I feel our biggest concern is the environment. Your articles on plastic pollution have been excellent, and are helping promote our tackling of the problem. However, I feel that anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is not getting the priority it should. For people to know enough to lobby their politicians, AGW must have more mainstream media coverage. There are too many MPs, MEPs and congressmen that will only take action if it costs them votes.

It is human nature to worry more about tomorrow than a few decades from now. But we may not even have decades. So yes, it can seem too big a subject at times. But people need to know all the likely effects, and, most importantly, what they personally can do about it. Clare Munks, Derbyshire, UK

In 2018 the Guardian needs to keep going despite a world going mad. The crazier all else seems, the more necessary the Guardian is. More of the same please, but more so. Try not to keep repeating what works, try to avoid catchy headlines, try not to be too “lifestyle” focused, except where screamingly appropriate. Keep keeping on. Donal Scannell, Ireland

One topic that historically fails to get sufficient coverage is independent voters in America. They are the least understood segment of voters despite being over 40% of registered voters, with even higher proportions in many states. They will be pivotal in some critical elections in 2018 and 2020. The potential impact of independents, and the failure to grasp their significance, are, I believe, the untold story of contemporary American political dynamics. If the United States matters on the world stage, this matters. Al Bell, Arizona, US

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