Dear Reader,

I recently gave my soul a little treat and sent myself on a nostalgia-triggering journey to London, the only city I have ever lived in outside of my hometown, Prague. Amongst all the other thoughts and ideas that were brought up in my mind after not having visited the UK’s capital for the past 5 years, one stood out as the most prominent: The refreshing virtue of soft focus.

The sole idea of a population panic becomes palpable in a metropolis as considerable as London, yet I was stunned by how the endless waves of people seemed virtually choreographed, there were rarely any clashes among the moving crowds at all, every single person happened to be completely aware of every single other person around him/her.

I view this entire model of soft focus as a metaphor. This issue is, therefore, dedicated to awareness, but in a sense that exists outside of our physical bodies, directed mainly on our media consumption. As readers/consumers, we shall opt for the right balance between the extremes of either the everpresent compassion fatigue or the depressing excessive amount of sensitivity about the unfairness of the world we live in. Even just in my immediate surroundings, I read about journalists being murdered, I live in a country where the prime minister is being prosecuted, and as of right now, more than ever, I want to highlight the importance of journalism for democracy.

This is where I may take the time and space in this editorial to voice my deepest gratitude towards the amazing journalism students who have agreed to join our tiny Editor team at The Feed, which now consists of Laila, Meg, Belinda, Brittney, and myself. Yes, we are increasing the levels of estrogen, and so our March issue is filled with passion and sentiment.

Zeina Kanawati triggers all sorts of intense emotions with her beautiful poem: When My Country Was at War, I Was Dancing’ Poem. Meg and Laila are premiering their work on the site, and I could not personally be more thrilled to have these two ladies join as contributors. Meg’s humour is strikingly unique in her entertaining piece Assignment Stress Getting You Down? You Best Beleaf in the Power of Nature, and Laila’s political article Recent Relations between North Korea and the United States of America is altogether professional and opinionated. In case you missed out on the Iranian Film Festival in Prague, Zeina sums it up in her informational and analytical event review. If you are one to enjoy heavier reads, do give Brittney’s detailed op-ed a read: Whistleblower Series II: The Hunt for Closure.

Please, do read the March issue slowly. The Feed‘s April issue comes out on Sunday, April 15. Our new writers are to get into the spotlight even more.

Yours truly,
Vi

 

Written by Huyen Vi Tranová.