The Spectator died 25 years ago when Frank Johnson was pushed out to make way for the younger, less talented Johnson.
That was also the end of another era, the one where there was room for working class autodidacts like FJ, who failed the 11 Plus, left school at 15, and then slowly became more erudite and cultured than most of the graduates he employed. Once upon his story was the normal path for cultural figures in the age of Shaw and Orwell, who never went to university but studied the great writers in their own time. It's the old style of working class intellectualism, nothing to do with sneery anti-liberal bores like Martin Daubney ("common as shit", as Ray Gosling said of that style of self-righteous proliness).
Once upon a time The Spectator had sone respect from across the spectrum, but that must be gone now. All it has left is the links to the people who know people, and they will be moving on now a different crowd are in power.
I remember a brief, amusing spat between Private Eye & the Spectator a short while back.
Neil was bragging about the Spectator's achievements, including circulation figures.
Private Eye disclosed theirs and they dwarfed the Spectator's. Wasn't even close.
PE’s print strategy is very canny.
The Spectator died 25 years ago when Frank Johnson was pushed out to make way for the younger, less talented Johnson.
That was also the end of another era, the one where there was room for working class autodidacts like FJ, who failed the 11 Plus, left school at 15, and then slowly became more erudite and cultured than most of the graduates he employed. Once upon his story was the normal path for cultural figures in the age of Shaw and Orwell, who never went to university but studied the great writers in their own time. It's the old style of working class intellectualism, nothing to do with sneery anti-liberal bores like Martin Daubney ("common as shit", as Ray Gosling said of that style of self-righteous proliness).
Once upon a time The Spectator had sone respect from across the spectrum, but that must be gone now. All it has left is the links to the people who know people, and they will be moving on now a different crowd are in power.
Thanks for this brilliant and spot on comment, Jonathan.