The Spectator 18 September 2010 cover |
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| Editor | Fraser Nelson[1] |
|---|---|
| Categories | Politics, Culture |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Total circulation (2008) |
76,952[2] |
| First issue | 1828 |
| Company | Press Holdings |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | http://www.spectator.co.uk/ |
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828.[3] It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. It generally takes a right-of-centre, conservative editorial line, although regular contributors such as Frank Field and Martin Bright write from a more left-wing perspective. The magazine also has extensive arts pages on books, music, opera, and film and TV reviews. In late 2008, Spectator Australia was launched. This offers 12 pages of "Unique Australian Content" (including a separate Editorial page) in addition to the full UK contents. The magazine had an ABC circulation figure of 77,146 in 2008.
Editorship of The Spectator has often been part of a route to high office in the Conservative Party; past editors include Iain Macleod, Ian Gilmour and Nigel Lawson, all of whom became cabinet ministers. Editorship can also be a springboard for a greater role in public affairs, as with Boris Johnson (1999 to 2005), Conservative Mayor of London.[4]
Contents |
From its founding in 1828 The Spectator has taken a pro-British line in foreign affairs.
Like its sister publication The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator is generally Atlanticist and Eurosceptic in outlook, favouring close ties with the United States rather than with the European Union, and it is usually supportive of Israel. However, it has expressed strong doubts about the Iraq war, and some of its contributors, such as Matthew Parris and Stuart Reid, express a more Americosceptic, old-school conservative line. Other contributors such as Irwin Stelzer argue from an American-style neoconservative position. Like much of the British press it is critical of the unilateral extradition treaty that allowed the Natwest three to be extradited, and in July 2006 the magazine devoted a leading article to lambasting the US Senate.[5] According to former editor Boris Johnson, the Spectator's baseline editorial policy is to "always be roughly speaking in favour of getting rid of Saddam, sticking up for Israel, free-market economics, expanding choice", though it is "not necessarily a Thatcherite Conservative or a neo-conservative magazine, even though in our editorial coverage we tend to follow roughly the conclusions of those lines of arguments."[6]
The Spectator is one of the few British publications that still ignores or dismisses most examples of popular culture, in the way that (for example) The Daily Telegraph did under W.F. Deedes, or The Times did under William Haley. The magazine coined the phrase "young fogey" in 1984 (in an article by Alan Watkins).
The Spectator does have a popular music column, though it only appears every four weeks, while a cinema column contains a review of one film each week by the non-specialist Deborah Ross. By contrast, opera, fine art, books, poetry and classical music all receive extensive weekly coverage.
Although there is a permanent staff of writers, The Spectator has always had room for a wide array of contributors. These have included Donald Hankey ("a student in arms"), Auberon Waugh, Jeffrey Bernard (the "Low Life" column) and Taki (the "High Life" column). Following Bernard's death, the "Low Life" column is now written by Jeremy Clarke. Joan Collins contributes regularly as Guest Diarist, as does Barry Humphries. For the past few years the weekly provider of Spectator’s Notes has been Charles Moore. Some recent reviewers include semi-residents, Deborah Ross and James Delingpole, notable for their unusual styles of Cinema and TV criticism. John Cleese acted as 'Contributing Editor' ten days after the Ides of March 2009.
The book reviews are often 'outsourced' to outsiders who are experts in the given subject, so consequently it is rare to see the same review author twice in as many weeks. The restaurant section is also an irregular piece. British-born South African journalist Jani Allan is also a former correspondent.[7][8]
The chess columnist since 1977 has been Raymond Keene, who retains the role despite the unauthorised copying of a piece by Edward Winter[9] for his column[10] of 7 June 2008. The matter was reported in Private Eye.[11]
John St. Loe Strachey edited the Spectator from 1887 to 1925.
Ian Gilmour bought The Spectator in 1954 and was its editor from 1954 to 1959, refreshing its outlook. The magazine adopted a libertarian and pro-European outlook, and took a position against the Suez War. The magazine was critical of the government of Harold Macmillan, and while still supporting the Conservatives was also friendly to the Hugh Gaitskell wing of the Labour Party.[12] Gilmour sold The Spectator to the businessman Harold Creighton in 1967 for £75,000.[13]
Creighton’s took the magazine in a new right-wing direction, and strongly opposed British membership of the Common Market. Circulation fell from 36,000 in 1966 to below 17,000, and in 1975 Creighton sold The Spectator to Henry Keswick, again for £75,000. However Creighton sold the 99 Gower Street premises separately, so the magazine moved to premises in Doughty Street.[14]
The magazine has prospered in recent times. Former editor Boris Johnson, who gave The Spectator more appeal with his famous profile and controversial character, resigned in December 2005, on taking up an appointment as Shadow Minister for Higher Education. Johnson's final months as editor were marred by the negative reaction to an editorial written by Simon Heffer criticising the people of Liverpool for engaging in vicarious victimhood following the death of Ken Bigley. Johnson made a personal apology. Recent articles have resumed the theme in commenting on public declarations of grief following the murder of Rhys Jones.
The circulation was not at all hindered by the notoriety the magazine achieved after revelations about Johnson's affair with one of his columnists Petronella Wyatt, the extramarital adventures of its publisher Kimberly Quinn and affair of the associate editor Rod Liddle.
The Spectator caused controversy in 1994 when it printed an article entitled "Kings of the Deal" on a claimed Jewish influence in Hollywood, written by William Cash, who at the time was based in Los Angeles and working mainly for The Daily Telegraph. The Telegraph had considered the article too risky to publish, but Spectator editor Dominic Lawson thought Cash's idea was as old as Hollywood itself and that Lawson's being a Jew would mitigate adverse reactions to publication. There was, however, considerable controversy, although owner Conrad Black did not personally rebuke Lawson. Max Hastings, then editor of The Daily Telegraph, wrote with regard to Telegraph group owner Conrad Black, who also owned The Jerusalem Post at the time, "It was one of the few moments in my time with Conrad when I saw him look seriously rattled: 'You don't understand, Max. My entire interests in the United States and internationally could be seriously damaged by this'."[15]
The article was defended by some conservatives. John Derbyshire, who says he has "complicated and sometimes self-contradictory feelings about Jews", wrote on National Review Online regarding what he saw as the Jewish overreaction to the article that "It was a display of arrogance, cruelty, ignorance, stupidity, and sheer bad manners by rich and powerful people towards a harmless, helpless young writer, and the Jews who whipped up this preposterous storm should all be thoroughly ashamed of themselves".[16]
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