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(Redirected from Spectator)
::''This article is about the British weekly magazine. For Addison and Steele's influential literary magazine, see The Spectator (1711); the others can be found at The Spectator (disambiguation). See also The American Spectator magazine.''
'''The Spectator''' is a British
magazine, which claims to be the oldest continuously-published magazine in the English language. As a daily publication, it was founded in 1711 by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England. Each 'paper', or 'number', was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers. It was revived in 1714 as a thrice weekly for six months in 1714. It was again revived in 1828 and published weekly.
It is currently owned by the Barclay brothers, who also own ''The Daily Telegraph''. Its principal subject area is politics, about which it generally takes a robustly conservative editorial line, although regular contributors such as Rod Liddle write from the Left. The magazine also has extensive arts pages on books, music, opera, and film and TV reviews.
Editorship of ''The Spectator'' has often been a route to high office in the British 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) who is now a bon-vivant public figure in Britain and potential candidate for the 2008 London mayorial election.
From its founding in 1828 The Spectator has taken a pro-British line in foreign affairs; such was the case in 1904 when it raised concerns about the anti-British and Pan-Asian attitudes prevalent amongst Indian students in Japan.
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 and position. Like much of the British press it is critical of the unilateral extradition treaty that has condemned the Natwest three to extradition without a ''prima facie'' case, and the magazine recently devoted a leading article to lambasting the US Senate[1]
''The Spectator'' is one of the few British publications that still ignores or dismisses most 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). "Culture" for ''The Spectator'' tends towards gallery openings, new opera productions and the like. It does have a "television and cinema" section, but this is often given over to personal soliloquies by writers such as the novelist James Delingpole, who spends as much time lamenting how poor and unsuccessful he is as he does reviewing television programming.
''The Spectator'' tends to follow its educated-and-conservative target audience's fashions and social concerns: sourcing organic food at markets, the pros and cons of private education, hunting, travel, etc. Certain British cultural establishments are also often favourably alluded to, such as the University of Oxford (alma mater of many ''Spectator'' contributors), Ascot and White's.
Although there is a permanent staff of writers, ''The Spectator'' has always had room for a wide array of contributors. These have included 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. 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.
Jewish writer Dominic Lawson once published an article written by William Cash detailing the Jewish influence in Hollywood. Prominent Jews fiercely condemned both Cash and Lawson. In a later issue, Cash responded to irate letters to the editor, and Lawson wrote an article explaining how political correctness and Jewish activism in the United States stifles certain serious debate.
The magazine has prospered in recent times. Under former editor Boris Johnson and his appealing Wodehousian aura clumsy public relations did no harm. He resigned in December 2005, on taking up an appointment as Shadow Minister for Higher Education.
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 nickname ''The Sextator'' has gained some currency.
In Private Eye, the magazine is usually referred to either as ''The Spectacularlyboring'' or as ''The Hasbeano'' (with Boris Johnson, while he was editor, referred to as "Boris the Menace" and with other parodic cartoon strips portraying people associated with ''The Spectator'' as characters in The Beano).
★ Robert Stephen Rintoul 1828, as founder, to 1861 when the position was shared with Hutton
★ R. H. Hutton 1861–87
★ John St Loe Strachey 1887–1925
★ Evelyn Wrench 1925–32
★ Wilson Harris 1932–52
★ Walter Taplin 1953–4
★ Ian Gilmour 1954–9
★ Brian Inglis 1959–62
★ Iain Hamilton 1962–3
★ Iain Macleod 1963–5
★ Nigel Lawson 1966–70
★ George Gale 1970–73
★ Harold Creighton 1973–75
★ Alexander Chancellor 1975–84
★ Charles Moore 1984–90
★ Dominic Lawson 1990–5
★ Frank Johnson 1995–9
★ Boris Johnson 1999–2005
★ Matthew d'Ancona 2006–
1. ''The Spectator'', 8th July 2006
★ The Spectator official site
★ Digital edition
::''This article is about the British weekly magazine. For Addison and Steele's influential literary magazine, see The Spectator (1711); the others can be found at The Spectator (disambiguation). See also The American Spectator magazine.''
Cover of the Nov 12, 2005 issue of '''The Spectator''' magazine.
'''The Spectator''' is a British
magazine, which claims to be the oldest continuously-published magazine in the English language. As a daily publication, it was founded in 1711 by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England. Each 'paper', or 'number', was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers. It was revived in 1714 as a thrice weekly for six months in 1714. It was again revived in 1828 and published weekly.
It is currently owned by the Barclay brothers, who also own ''The Daily Telegraph''. Its principal subject area is politics, about which it generally takes a robustly conservative editorial line, although regular contributors such as Rod Liddle write from the Left. The magazine also has extensive arts pages on books, music, opera, and film and TV reviews.
Editorship of ''The Spectator'' has often been a route to high office in the British 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) who is now a bon-vivant public figure in Britain and potential candidate for the 2008 London mayorial election.
| Contents |
| Policy positions |
| Cultural positions |
| Contributors |
| Controversy |
| Recent times |
| Trivia |
| Editors |
| References |
| External links |
Policy positions
From its founding in 1828 The Spectator has taken a pro-British line in foreign affairs; such was the case in 1904 when it raised concerns about the anti-British and Pan-Asian attitudes prevalent amongst Indian students in Japan.
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 and position. Like much of the British press it is critical of the unilateral extradition treaty that has condemned the Natwest three to extradition without a ''prima facie'' case, and the magazine recently devoted a leading article to lambasting the US Senate[1]
Cultural positions
''The Spectator'' is one of the few British publications that still ignores or dismisses most 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). "Culture" for ''The Spectator'' tends towards gallery openings, new opera productions and the like. It does have a "television and cinema" section, but this is often given over to personal soliloquies by writers such as the novelist James Delingpole, who spends as much time lamenting how poor and unsuccessful he is as he does reviewing television programming.
''The Spectator'' tends to follow its educated-and-conservative target audience's fashions and social concerns: sourcing organic food at markets, the pros and cons of private education, hunting, travel, etc. Certain British cultural establishments are also often favourably alluded to, such as the University of Oxford (alma mater of many ''Spectator'' contributors), Ascot and White's.
Contributors
Although there is a permanent staff of writers, ''The Spectator'' has always had room for a wide array of contributors. These have included 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. 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.
Controversy
Jewish writer Dominic Lawson once published an article written by William Cash detailing the Jewish influence in Hollywood. Prominent Jews fiercely condemned both Cash and Lawson. In a later issue, Cash responded to irate letters to the editor, and Lawson wrote an article explaining how political correctness and Jewish activism in the United States stifles certain serious debate.
Recent times
The magazine has prospered in recent times. Under former editor Boris Johnson and his appealing Wodehousian aura clumsy public relations did no harm. He resigned in December 2005, on taking up an appointment as Shadow Minister for Higher Education.
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 nickname ''The Sextator'' has gained some currency.
Trivia
In Private Eye, the magazine is usually referred to either as ''The Spectacularlyboring'' or as ''The Hasbeano'' (with Boris Johnson, while he was editor, referred to as "Boris the Menace" and with other parodic cartoon strips portraying people associated with ''The Spectator'' as characters in The Beano).
Editors
★ Robert Stephen Rintoul 1828, as founder, to 1861 when the position was shared with Hutton
★ R. H. Hutton 1861–87
★ John St Loe Strachey 1887–1925
★ Evelyn Wrench 1925–32
★ Wilson Harris 1932–52
★ Walter Taplin 1953–4
★ Ian Gilmour 1954–9
★ Brian Inglis 1959–62
★ Iain Hamilton 1962–3
★ Iain Macleod 1963–5
★ Nigel Lawson 1966–70
★ George Gale 1970–73
★ Harold Creighton 1973–75
★ Alexander Chancellor 1975–84
★ Charles Moore 1984–90
★ Dominic Lawson 1990–5
★ Frank Johnson 1995–9
★ Boris Johnson 1999–2005
★ Matthew d'Ancona 2006–
References
1. ''The Spectator'', 8th July 2006
External links
★ The Spectator official site
★ Digital edition
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