│By Emma Harris, Associate Editor, Gale Primary Sources│
The period of 2017 to 2021 spanned both my university education and then being thrust into the adult world of work – a turbulent time for any, exacerbated by a period of news headlines dominated with political fallout, freak weather, and global pandemics. This period saw elections, both in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the likes of Brexit lead to political divides within countries, and not to mention the coronavirus pandemic that absorbed most of our lives considerably from 2020 into 2021.
However, this isn’t to say these years weren’t filled with positive change at all. In fact, there was rather a lot of good news. And when we’re still dealing with the inundation of negative news topics daily – inflation and wars being some of the topics to greet me on the news this morning – sometimes it’s helpful to be reminded of the good news that’s out there too.
So, using the most recent update to Gale’s Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896-2021, allow me to put some joy back into your day with some of the positive news that came from the last decade.
2017: BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag)
2017 was the year we saw a huge shift in countries’ mindsets towards single use plastic, bringing about the change that has become normal to our lives now in 2025, like paying for plastic bags in supermarkets to encourage us to bring our own reusable ones. The Daily Mail, in fact, was at the forefront of this movement in the UK, with a decade-long campaign on the problems of plastic, notably focused on plastic bottles to begin with.
Its articles highlight the positive impact that government changes on plastic use had on the country, including the introduction of a 5p charge for all plastic bags, and the ban of using plastic microbeads, as seen above. Issues featuring articles from well-known environmental personalities such as Steve Backshall, naturalist and explorer, demonstrating the negative impact of single-use plastic on our wildlife helped to forward this message.
2018: Rescue from Tham Luang Cave
In June and July, 2018, the world was gripped by the rescue of the Wild Boars football team from a flooded cave in Tham Luang, Thailand, some of them spending a whole eighteen days underground. What could have ended in utter tragedy, became a story of heroism, perseverance, and faith, worth celebrating. So much so that multiple documentary films have been created since, including ones by National Geographic and Netflix.
The Daily Mail documented the ordeal of rescuing the twelve teenage boys and their coach who had been stuck in the Tham Luang cave system after a flash flood due to monsoon weather trapped them for nine days before they were found. However, their discovery was only the beginning, with Thai Navy Seals, local military and divers, Australian police and military, and a team of British divers all working together to locate and rescue the boys and their coach.
The “’masterpiece’ three-and-a-half-hour mission” involved pumping water from the caves, while expert divers underwent a treacherous journey that claimed the life of an elite Navy Seal through “mud-clogged underwater tunnels” to reach the boys and then guide them back through again to safety. Although they all needed medical attention, the twelve boys and their coach survived, thanks to the heroic work of all those involved, and the world celebrated their rescue.
2019: Medical Breakthroughs Pre-Pandemic
While the end of 2019 saw the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, an ensuing period that would dominate medical news and knowledge, the year of 2019 saw other positive medical developments, rounding up a decade of medical progress, as reported by the Daily Mail.
One of the key positive developments seen in 2019 was the use of stem cell therapy to treat HIV – a disease that had only been suppressible with treatments, but never curable. The article below explains how stem cells from a donor with a genetic mutation that rendered them resistant to being infected with HIV-1 were given to an HIV positive patient to treat his cancer.
Thirty-five months later, “no trace of the HIV virus has been detected” in the patient’s bloodstream. While the treatment could not be seen instantly as a cure, it opened up possibilities for further research and the promise of one day eliminating HIV.
2020: Helping the Young and Hungry
While the coronavirus pandemic was a difficult time for many, it also brought to light social and economic issues and demanded change to them. One such issue was the lack of free meals for the most vulnerable children over the summer holidays in the United Kingdom, when more families than ever were struggling financially under the changes that COVID-19 had brought in.
However, 2020 saw well-known Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford use his fame to campaign for free meals to be extended throughout the summer holidays to support over a million children, with the government following through with his demands. Rashford was heralded as an “inspiration and hero of our time”, and his campaigning continued with asking for free school meals into the October half-term too as pandemic conditions sustained, using his own upbringing as motivation to make such a positive difference.
2021: Olympics Golds and Sharing History
Postponed due to the pandemic, the world got to enjoy the Olympics again in 2021. An event that brings countries together to celebrate their incredible athletes, the Daily Mail was hot on reporting the achievements of Team GB. As a total, Team GB won 67 medals, putting them in second place, with 27 being gold, including, as seen below, for the 100m breaststroke, diving, and cross-country mountain biking.
And while Team GB took home many golds, we also saw the two men’s high jump competitors, Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim, request to share their gold medal as neither of them could beat the other – something that has not happened in over one hundred years. Olympic history was made again.
Silver Linings In Every Issue
While it’s easy to focus on the more negative stories in our news, many of these are often accompanied by tales of progress and achievement. The Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896-2021 here highlights how the last decade has seen positive stories of environmental progress, people coming together to save others, medical breakthroughs, social change to support our most vulnerable, and celebrations of our countries’ most talented individuals. Amongst the political fallout and lockdowns, there were stories that gave us hope too.
If you enjoyed reading this post about newspapers and their stories, check out these blog posts:
- Reflecting on the Recent Past with The Independent Historical Archive Supplement, 2017-2021
- How a Girl Should Be: How Female Experiences Have Changed Over Time
- The Influence of British Media on its Politics: Insights from Gale Primary Sources
Blog post cover image citation: A collage of the articles included in this blog post, from the Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896-2021.
