So. Private Eye is 60.

[Gloster]

Lord Gnome’s illustrious organ first appeared on 25 October 1961: it was then a much less reliable source than the current periodical. Personally, I consider it just about the only reliable source of news nowadays. Long may it continue to infuriate the undeserving on all sides of the social and political spectrums.

 

[alex397]

I agree with you about it being just about the only reliable source of news.

Ive been reading it since my great uncle used to give me his old copies when I was a teenager. Back then it was the cartoons which I mostly looked at, but now enjoy all of it and mostly the unbiased journalism.

For me, it is more important than ever with some of the events which have happened in recent years. With Covid, I’ve found Dr Phil Hammond’s coverage invaluable.

 

[52290]

Lord Gnome’s illustrious organ first appeared on 25 October 1961: it was then a much less reliable source than the current periodical. Personally, I consider it just about the only reliable source of news nowadays. Long may it continue to infuriate the undeserving on all sides of the social and political spectrums.

It's never been the same since E. I. Addio and Dud Fivers were stopped from filing their reports on Neasden FC. Probably because they spent too much time in the Boston Arms getting hissed with ashen-faced manager, Ron Knee and fans Sid and Doris Bonkers.

 

[tbtc]

Essential reading

Especially with the hype/froth of 24hr news and social media - the Eye helps you see the wood and not just the trees - it's much better to get some perspective on things than the instant "reactions" to urgent headlines

There's been periods in my life where I've just read the cartoons, there's been periods where I've read the majority of the articles, there are times when I have the mental energy to read the investigative journalism at the back of the magazine, the messier side of things that nobody else seems to care to keep tracks on

It's just a shame that we are in an era so devoid of political scruples that people are able to brush off the evidence that the Eye digs up - I grew up in an era where people would have resigned over scandals - I think Henry McLeish was the last person to step down over a minor infraction (whereas these days it's apparently fine to leak the content of your budget in advance, as long as it's to friendly newspapers)

And a subscription remains very cheap, well worth it if you still value actual investigative journalism over clickbait (or just want to read what the newspapers will finally pick up on in three/six months time - the amount of times I've been unsurprised at an "Exclusive" in the newspapers because I read it in the Eye ages ago...)

The only "dud" is the Keir Starmer column, but I think that that says more about how hard it is to find anything interesting to say about Starmer, it must be hard to ghost that particular column!

 

[weepingwillowb]

I never before saved the copies I bought, but have done since lockdown started in March last year. Thank goodness PE continued to come out in print form the last 18 months, buying a copy every fortnight was a touch of normality.

 

[ainsworth74]

I bounced off Private Eye about a decade ago. Bought a couple of issues but just didn't quite click with the whole thing.

But then a decade more maturity and then reading their in depth article on the Post Office Horizon scandal (which they cleverly made available for free on their website!) last May/June was enough to persuade me to at least take out a trial subscription which was rapidly converted into an annual subscription.

Must admit I don't always read it cover to cover but the cartoons are always amusing and the general reportage at the front is essential reading. As others have said I do think their slower rate of publication does mean that they don't get bogged down in flash in the pan stories and can focus on the real meaty topics. Especially the ones certain people in positions of power would prefer didn't get much coverage. Plus the letters page is usually highly entertaining.

My renewal is due shortly and I shall be pleased to see it leave my bank account!

The only "dud" is the Keir Starmer column, but I think that that says more about how hard it is to find anything interesting to say about Starmer, it must be hard to ghost that particular column!

Oh good it's not just me! I tried a few of them but just couldn't get on with it. Now the Boris column on the other hand...

 

[Bald Rick]

Avid reader of it - Happy Birthday!

The only slight niggle I have concerns how some of the articles are positioned. The Dr B Ching column often infuriates me, as it puts a very specific slant on many of the stories reported. And that’s makes me wonder how many of the other regular columns do the same.

 

[ainsworth74]

The only slight niggle I have concerns how some of the articles are positioned. The Dr B Ching column often infuriates me, as it puts a very specific slant on many of the stories reported. And that’s makes me wonder how many of the other regular columns do the same.

Yes that's fair I must admit I do often find myself shaking my head at Dr B Ching...

 

[Strathclyder]

Have never bought Private Eye, seems that is a error I need to correct sooner rather than later. A certain long-standing panelist/team captain on Have I Got News For You is the main reason I'm even aware of it's existence lol

It's just a shame that we are in an era so devoid of political scruples that people are able to brush off the evidence that the Eye digs up - I grew up in an era where people would have resigned over scandals - I think Henry McLeish was the last person to step down over a minor infraction (whereas these days it's apparently fine to leak the content of your budget in advance, as long as it's to friendly newspapers)

The way I've come to view this is that the political scandals have been of such frequency over the last 6 or so years - a direct result of said lack of political scruples/moral compass - that they began to cancel each other out and we have become numb to it all as a result; aka the 'bed of nails effect'.

Of course, that is just my take on the last 6 or so years of the (dis)organized chaos that has passed for British politics; could be complete hogwash in the eyes of most lol

 

[tbtc]

Oh good it's not just me! I tried a few of them but just couldn't get on with it. Now the Boris column on the other hand...

The Johnson column has his "voice" perfectly - it's the lucid stream of consciousness that I'd expect from the man himself - I don't know if he's so much of a parody himself that it's hard for satirists to skewer him but Private Eye have tapped into the seam very well there

Avid reader of it - Happy Birthday!

The only slight niggle I have concerns how some of the articles are positioned. The Dr B Ching column often infuriates me, as it puts a very specific slant on many of the stories reported. And that’s makes me wonder how many of the other regular columns do the same.

Agreed re Doctor Ching - it's a shame that one person's personal vendettas slant the reporting on a major industry like rail - I don't know enough about medicine so trust MD, I don't know how Fleet Street really works so I take the Eye's reporting of tabloid scandals at face value, I have to accept their version of what's going on with "Brenda" as I don't know much about royal affairs... but the railway stuff always strays into personal rants without a thorough analysis (e.g. I'm not defending the Hitatchi contract but what realistic alternatives were there)

The way I've come to view this is that the political scandals are of such frequency nowadays (a direct result of said lack of political scruples and moral compass) that they all cancel each other out and we become numb to all the chaos; aka the 'bed of nails effect'.

Of course, this is just my take on the last 6 or so years of the (dis)organized chaos that has passed for British politics; could be complete hogwash lol

That's a good metaphor - I was listening to Robert Jenrick on the radio this morning (hyping up the forthcoming budget) and couldn't remember for the life of me which scandal he'd survived... was it secretly liaising with a foreign Government, or spaffing billions of pounds on rubbish procurement or... oh, no, wait, he was the one who dished out planning applications to his Donor mates - there's so much sleaze around these days that it's hard to keep up!

The magazine is always worth a read, even if it's punches don't do the damage that they'd have done to previous generations of politicians - as well as the cartoons I always enjoy the articles where they point out how this week's columns by high profile journalists completely contradict what the same writers were telling us would definitely happen just a few weeks ago - the fortnightly publication allows them to put things into context better than daily papers can

 

[Bald Rick]

I also marvel at their corporate memory for even the smallest stories “As reported previously (Eye 1278*)....

* being about 11 years ago)

 

[Strathclyder]

That's a good metaphor - I was listening to Robert Jenrick on the radio this morning (hyping up the forthcoming budget) and couldn't remember for the life of me which scandal he'd survived... was it secretly liaising with a foreign Government, or spaffing billions of pounds on rubbish procurement or... oh, no, wait, he was the one who dished out planning applications to his Donor mates - there's so much sleaze around these days that it's hard to keep up!

The magazine is always worth a read, even if it's punches don't do the damage that they'd have done to previous generations of politicians - as well as the cartoons I always enjoy the articles where they point out how this week's columns by high profile journalists completely contradict what the same writers were telling us would definitely happen just a few weeks ago - the fortnightly publication allows them to put things into context better than daily papers can

I'm afraid I can't claim credit for it: I shamelessly nicked it from a Last Week Tonight piece on a certain lame duck (former) Oval Office occupant dating from, I think, late 2016-early 2017. The more I thought about it in the context of our own politics, the more I thought it to be a perfect metaphor for how the last 6 or so years have burned us all out in that regard. Hardly a new political tactic - wear us out/distract us with constant chaos & open/casual corruption so that we don't raise as much hell over the truly insidious policies as we otherwise would - but it's never been as overt as it has been for the last 5-6 years. Still a depressingly effective tool despite how well-worn it is.

 

[SuspectUsual]

The only "dud" is the Keir Starmer column, but I think that that says more about how hard it is to find anything interesting to say about Starmer, it must be hard to ghost that particular column!

Oh good it's not just me! I tried a few of them but just couldn't get on with it. Now the Boris column on the other hand...

The spoofs of the serving PM have all been fantastic. Blair as the vicar of St Albion’s is a work of absolute genius

 

[Busaholic]

The cartoons are not up to the standard of the past, but then Bill Tidy and Honeysett, for instance, are long gone and Ralph Steadman seems to be on a different path. Even so, P.E. is more essential reading than ever in this age of fake news and the decline of journalism on national newspapers. In some respects it's better than the 'old days'. Richard Ingrams and Auberon Waugh, for all their excellent stuff, pursued personal vendettas through the mag, which could get quite boring and sometimes over-the-top.

 

[willD]

I found out at 15 or so that I had grown up missing an MMR jab because of the fraudulent study claiming a link with autism, which Private Eye doubled down on its support of. Whether or not that influenced my folks directly, I'm not sure (they don't feel the need to explain themselves), but I lost a lot of respect for it when I found out. And there's still not been an apology published.

On the other hand it can be rather funny! And, of course, they have done some very hard-hitting investigations, too.

 

[telstarbox]

I agree with you about it being just about the only reliable source of news.

Ive been reading it since my great uncle used to give me his old copies when I was a teenager. Back then it was the cartoons which I mostly looked at, but now enjoy all of it and mostly the unbiased journalism.

For me, it is more important than ever with some of the events which have happened in recent years. With Covid, I’ve found Dr Phil Hammond’s coverage invaluable.

It's good but no journalism is unbiased.

 

[Gloster]

I found out at 15 or so that I had grown up missing an MMR jab because of the fraudulent study claiming a link with autism, which Private Eye doubled down on its support of. Whether or not that influenced my folks directly, I'm not sure (they don't feel the need to explain themselves), but I lost a lot of respect for it when I found out. And there's still not been an apology published.

Ian Hislop has said that the Eye’s support for the claims about a link is the one major misjudgement during his tenure that he seriously regrets. They did have a fairly thorough internal enquiry and have made quite clear their apologies, unlike the newspapers who also championed the claims.

 

[alex397]

It's good but no journalism is unbiased.

I take your point. Can’t guarantee any journalism will be completely unbiased.

But Private Eye isn’t owned by billionaires with cushy links to the government, and nor does it ‘take a side’ between left and right politics like so many of the tabloids. So, I’d say it’s a lot less biased than our mainstream media.

 

[Arglwydd Golau]

The spoofs of the serving PM have all been fantastic. Blair as the vicar of St Albion’s is a work of absolute genius

I really enjoyed St, Albion's, Brown's Comprehensive, The New Coalition Academy and St Theresa's Independent Grammar School for Girls (and boys) but can't get the Johnson Fakebook sketch...must try harder on that one

 

[weepingwillowb]

Whoever's responsible for From The Message Boards is a genius. Having lived there, I know that the character of Stokie Steve is spot on.

Always skipped the Scene & Heard cartoon, and I do hope it doesn't return.

 

[Ashley Hill]

And of course the often hilarious front covers. The long standing Andrew Neil photo also always raises a smile whenever an excuse is found for printing it again. I also like Nooks & Corners.

 

[telstarbox]

Whoever's responsible for From The Message Boards is a genius.

It's definitely not based on this forum

Yobs and Supermodels are well past retirement surely.

 

[alex397]

Yobs and Supermodels are well past retirement surely.

Private Eye are often fairly spot on, but yes I agree here. Particularly with Yobs - that strip seems to be written for the 1990s!

I do enjoy ‘It’s Grim Up North London’ - I often meet people like this, particularly when I’m going around the ‘trendy’ parts of London. It also reminds me of conversations I overhear when I rarely go in to Waitrose.

 

[Tracked]

I really enjoyed St, Albion's, Brown's Comprehensive, The New Coalition Academy and St Theresa's Independent Grammar School for Girls (and boys) but can't get the Johnson Fakebook sketch...must try harder on that one

I must admit, I was struggling to remember the Theresa May one, none of the above touched The Secret Diary of John Major.

I've subscribed to it for about 20 years, been through periods of focussing more one the columns and other periods of focussing more on the jokes in the middle. Recently, MD's Corona section has been good, usually one of the first things I'll go to when it arrives, and it's always interesting the amount of times there'll be something in the news and I'll be thinking "I read that in Private Eye about 6 months ago" ... (continued on page 94)

 

[Calthrop]

I must admit, I was struggling to remember the Theresa May one, none of the above touched The Secret Diary of John Major.

I've subscribed to it for about 20 years, been through periods of focussing more one the columns and other periods of focussing more on the jokes in the middle. Recently, MD's Corona section has been good, usually one of the first things I'll go to when it arrives, and it's always interesting the amount of times there'll be something in the news and I'll be thinking "I read that in Private Eye about 6 months ago" ... (continued on page 94)

(My bolding above) -- I'm not a big follower of current affairs -- feel, largely, re myself, that the choice is between being an "ostrich", and committing suicide. Nonetheless, for a good many decades I frequently -- though not routinely -- bought / read in part, "Private Eye". I largely skipped the serious "exposays" (not very interested in the minutiae of same, anyway); but revelled in a lot of the less "heavy" stuff -- nonsense characters such as E. Jarvis Thribb, the 17-year-old taking-himself-with-immense-seriousness "poet" for all occasions; and the moronic pop group Spiggy Topes and the T***s -- and "Pseuds' Corner", with its glorious deflating of the pompous and up-themselves. However; in relatively more recent times: in my perception, the magazine's nasty and vicious streak, which was always there -- has considerably intensified: seemed to be getting toward a state of no-holds-barred attacking everybody and everything, with furious loathing. This began for me, to amount to the Eye's behaving just like the hate-and-scorn tabloids which it lambastes for exactly that kind of behaviour. I have not opened a copy of "Private Eye"" for probably ten years.

 

[DarloRich]

I have not opened a copy of "Private Eye"" for probably ten years.

So you don't really know what Private Eye is like today?

 

[trebor79]

But Private Eye isn’t owned by billionaires with cushy links to the government, and nor does it ‘take a side’ between left and right politics like so many of the tabloids. So, I’d say it’s a lot less biased than our mainstream media.

Actually, ownership of Private Eye is rather opaque. A bit odd considering it's always banging on about the need for transparency in the ownership of eg luxury property.
But I still enjoy reading it.

 

[Gloster]

Actually, ownership of Private Eye is rather opaque. A bit odd considering it's always banging on about the need for transparency in the ownership of eg luxury property.
But I still enjoy reading it.

I think it has a small number (ten to twenty?) of shareholders who are either people who bought a few shares when it started or have inherited the shares. Dirk Bogarde was one and (I think) Jane Asher is or was another. The largest shareholder, possibly a majority one, is or was Peter Cook’s widow.

 

[Bald Rick]

I think it has a small number (ten to twenty?) of shareholders who are either people who bought a few shares when it started or have inherited the shares. Dirk Bogarde was one and (I think) Jane Asher is or was another. The largest shareholder, possibly a majority one, is or was Peter Cook’s widow.

Private Eye is published by Pressdram, a company that has (as you say) 11 shareholders. The two largest are Private Eye Productions and The Private Eye Trust. Others include Jane Asher, Elizabeth Cook, Dirk Bogaerde’s nephew, and a few connected with the magazine including Ian Hislop himself.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Actually, ownership of Private Eye is rather opaque. A bit odd considering it's always banging on about the need for transparency in the ownership of eg luxury property.
But I still enjoy reading it.

I think it has a small number (ten to twenty?) of shareholders who are either people who bought a few shares when it started or have inherited the shares. Dirk Bogarde was one and (I think) Jane Asher is or was another. The largest shareholder, possibly a majority one, is or was Peter Cook’s widow.

Companies House obliges, at least in part:

PS I'm just transfering the details into a text format.

CS01 Confirmation statement
PRESSDRAM LIMITED

Confirmation Statement date: 26/03/2021

JANE ASHER
102 ORDINARY shares

ELIZABETH COOK
3182 ORDINARY shares

THE EXECUTOR OF LORD FARINGDON
102 ORDINARY shares

IAN HISLOP
565 ORDINARY shares

PRIVATE EYE PRODUCTIONS LIMITED
5050 ORDINARY shares

ANTHONY PETER RUSHTON
420 ORDINARY shares

EXECUTORS OF SARAH SEYMOUR
3183 ORDINARY shares

THE PRIVATE EYE TRUST
11276 ORDINARY shares

THOMAS PETER USBOURNE
2160 ORDINARY shares

BROCK JULES PETER BRUGES VAN-DEN-BOGAERDE
103 ORDINARY shares

update:
The Private Eye Trust consists of the former shareholdings of:
Peter Cook Productions Ltd (7,732 shares)
Lin Cook (deceased) (3,183 shares)
Ian Hislop (1 share)
David John Mcqueen Cash (360 shares)