5 ms·

Honestly curious: can you expand a bit on why subscribe? I live in the UK, but never heard about Private Eye before?

pbowyer 3y ago
And if you're not sure if you want to subscribe, Page 94, the Private Eye Podcast [1] provides a great roundup of their main stories in inimitable fashion. 1. https://www.private-eye.co.uk/podcast https://www.private-eye.co.uk/podcast
walthamstow 3y ago
The most obvious and current reason is their tireless work on the Post Office scandal, but in general they print news that newspapers won't for fear of losing their relationships with politicians and other powerful figures. A recent example is the story that an MP walked in on Carrie blowing Boris in his office as Foreign Secretary while he was still married to another woman, and that at the time he was also trying to get her a paid job in his office. The Times had that story and printed most of it (though referred only to a 'comprimising situation') in their early edition of the paper the next day but it vanished from the later prints which end up in newsagents. The Mail also had the story online for a couple of hours before deleting it. Private Eye printed the whole saga including the gory detail and the article getting spiked. You might say this is just lurid gossip but as a taxpayer I would like to know if our leaders are giving paid jobs in government to women who blow them on the side, and I won't find out about it from any newspapers. (The cartoons are pretty funny too!)
- mjburgess 3y ago
  Well it's not gossip, it's against the law. The person 'walking in' on them was at work -- they could easily press charges. It's at least indecent exposure.
- VBprogrammer 3y ago
  I couldn't immediately find the reference but if I remember correctly they also referenced Boris' alleged fair with a Russian Violinist (potentially the one which sparked the "get off my f*cling laptop" incident), at least in cartoon form. Allegedly there is a super injunction on that one.
smcl 3y ago
Private Eye is a publication that Ian Hislop from Have I Got News For You edits. It's often quite funny, it tends to hold government, corporations and public figures to account much better than most newspapers. It's generally pretty good, but it's tarnished a bit by backing Andrew Wakefield when he made up the MMR/autism connection
- defrost 3y ago
  Hislop quietly rolled back his Wakefield support, sadly not in a front page apology as he should have: https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/feb/05/private-eye-magazines https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/feb/05/pri... He may have been smitten by Heather Mills who was the journalistic driving force behind that crusade. FWiW when I see Private Eye I still think Peter Cook.
  - smcl 3y ago
    Even there they try to downplay it, to be honest: > ... when we wrote about the concerns of Wakefield This really undersells the situation, it suggests he was just a concerned doctor who innocently pursued a theory that turned out to be wrong. You're likely aware of how it went down but for everyone else: Wakefield completely fabricated some evidence to raise fears that a combined measles/mumps/rubella vaccine was causing autism via some hitherto unknown gastro-intestinal disease (giving some pretty invasive and unnecessary procedures on kids in the process) with the intent of profiting from a vaccine of his own. He was struck off and prevented from practicing medicine in the UK (still active in the USA) but the damage had been done and he basically laid the groundwork for modern day antivax movement. This doesn't discredit Private Eye altogether, of course. It's just a bit annoying that they have this. A reminder, perhaps, that nobody's perfect?
teamonkey 3y ago
You’ve certainly seen the cover of Private Eye if you’ve passed the magazine section of any newsagent or supermarket. I’m not a massive fan of Politics JOE but I enjoyed this interview with Eye editor Ian Hislop, which I think is a good overview of his attitudes and politics https://youtu.be/IbXQWqZ2RvA https://youtu.be/IbXQWqZ2RvA
foldr 3y ago
Easiest option is just to buy a single issue in a supermarket or newsagent and see if you like it. The subscription works out cheaper, but it's not expensive anyway. There's a website (https://www.private-eye.co.uk https://www.private-eye.co.uk), but for the most part that only publishes the more lighthearted content. The serious stuff is only in the print edition.
- walthamstow 3y ago
  Yes, good point, I should have said that myself. It's a much lower barrier to entry to pay £2-something in the newsagents. That said, part of the great value I get from Private Eye is seeing things unfold over multiple issues or even multiple years as is the case of the Post Office/Fujitsu thing.
drumhead 3y ago
Its the best source of investigative journalism in the Uk, generally you'll hear about a story in Private Eye years before it gets to the national press or the BBC. Its a great souce for stories of wrong doing in national and local government, business, schools, the NHS, transport, farming and the Media. They regularly report on miscarriages of justice which you'll never usually hear about and get to the root of certain stories that are only very superficially reported on nationally. Its also a fantastic source of scurrilous gossip and rumour about politics and media which is usually accurate. They've been doing it for years now, since the early 1960's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye
- postexitus 3y ago
  I would highly recommend Byline times as well. They also do a digital edition on top of a print one. https://bylinetimes.com/ https://bylinetimes.com/
- crtasm 3y ago
  This. When I see television news I continually wonder: why are there no mentions of so much important news the Eye is covering?
- hermitcrab 3y ago
  >you'll hear about a story in Private Eye years before it gets to the national press or the BBC. Still waiting to hear why a certain young person (of very modest accomplishments) made it into the House of Lords. Given the absence of any reporting by PE on this, it seems that rumours of a 'super injunction' might be true.
  - drumhead 3y ago
    A certain prime ministers alleged daughter?
    - hermitcrab 3y ago
      Daddy BoJo or sugar daddy BloJo? I think we should be told.

And if you're not sure if you want to subscribe, Page 94, the Private Eye Podcast [1] provides a great roundup of their main stories in inimitable fashion. 1. https://www.private-eye.co.uk/podcast https://www.private-eye.co.uk/podcast

walthamstow 3y ago

The most obvious and current reason is their tireless work on the Post Office scandal, but in general they print news that newspapers won't for fear of losing their relationships with politicians and other powerful figures. A recent example is the story that an MP walked in on Carrie blowing Boris in his office as Foreign Secretary while he was still married to another woman, and that at the time he was also trying to get her a paid job in his office. The Times had that story and printed most of it (though referred only to a 'comprimising situation') in their early edition of the paper the next day but it vanished from the later prints which end up in newsagents. The Mail also had the story online for a couple of hours before deleting it. Private Eye printed the whole saga including the gory detail and the article getting spiked. You might say this is just lurid gossip but as a taxpayer I would like to know if our leaders are giving paid jobs in government to women who blow them on the side, and I won't find out about it from any newspapers. (The cartoons are pretty funny too!)

mjburgess 3y ago
Well it's not gossip, it's against the law. The person 'walking in' on them was at work -- they could easily press charges. It's at least indecent exposure.
VBprogrammer 3y ago
I couldn't immediately find the reference but if I remember correctly they also referenced Boris' alleged fair with a Russian Violinist (potentially the one which sparked the "get off my f*cling laptop" incident), at least in cartoon form. Allegedly there is a super injunction on that one.

smcl 3y ago

Private Eye is a publication that Ian Hislop from Have I Got News For You edits. It's often quite funny, it tends to hold government, corporations and public figures to account much better than most newspapers. It's generally pretty good, but it's tarnished a bit by backing Andrew Wakefield when he made up the MMR/autism connection

defrost 3y ago
Hislop quietly rolled back his Wakefield support, sadly not in a front page apology as he should have: https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/feb/05/private-eye-magazines https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2010/feb/05/pri... He may have been smitten by Heather Mills who was the journalistic driving force behind that crusade. FWiW when I see Private Eye I still think Peter Cook.
- smcl 3y ago
  Even there they try to downplay it, to be honest: > ... when we wrote about the concerns of Wakefield This really undersells the situation, it suggests he was just a concerned doctor who innocently pursued a theory that turned out to be wrong. You're likely aware of how it went down but for everyone else: Wakefield completely fabricated some evidence to raise fears that a combined measles/mumps/rubella vaccine was causing autism via some hitherto unknown gastro-intestinal disease (giving some pretty invasive and unnecessary procedures on kids in the process) with the intent of profiting from a vaccine of his own. He was struck off and prevented from practicing medicine in the UK (still active in the USA) but the damage had been done and he basically laid the groundwork for modern day antivax movement. This doesn't discredit Private Eye altogether, of course. It's just a bit annoying that they have this. A reminder, perhaps, that nobody's perfect?

teamonkey 3y ago

You’ve certainly seen the cover of Private Eye if you’ve passed the magazine section of any newsagent or supermarket. I’m not a massive fan of Politics JOE but I enjoyed this interview with Eye editor Ian Hislop, which I think is a good overview of his attitudes and politics https://youtu.be/IbXQWqZ2RvA https://youtu.be/IbXQWqZ2RvA

foldr 3y ago

Easiest option is just to buy a single issue in a supermarket or newsagent and see if you like it. The subscription works out cheaper, but it's not expensive anyway. There's a website (https://www.private-eye.co.uk https://www.private-eye.co.uk), but for the most part that only publishes the more lighthearted content. The serious stuff is only in the print edition.

walthamstow 3y ago
Yes, good point, I should have said that myself. It's a much lower barrier to entry to pay £2-something in the newsagents. That said, part of the great value I get from Private Eye is seeing things unfold over multiple issues or even multiple years as is the case of the Post Office/Fujitsu thing.

drumhead 3y ago

Its the best source of investigative journalism in the Uk, generally you'll hear about a story in Private Eye years before it gets to the national press or the BBC. Its a great souce for stories of wrong doing in national and local government, business, schools, the NHS, transport, farming and the Media. They regularly report on miscarriages of justice which you'll never usually hear about and get to the root of certain stories that are only very superficially reported on nationally. Its also a fantastic source of scurrilous gossip and rumour about politics and media which is usually accurate. They've been doing it for years now, since the early 1960's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Eye

postexitus 3y ago
I would highly recommend Byline times as well. They also do a digital edition on top of a print one. https://bylinetimes.com/ https://bylinetimes.com/
crtasm 3y ago
This. When I see television news I continually wonder: why are there no mentions of so much important news the Eye is covering?
hermitcrab 3y ago
>you'll hear about a story in Private Eye years before it gets to the national press or the BBC. Still waiting to hear why a certain young person (of very modest accomplishments) made it into the House of Lords. Given the absence of any reporting by PE on this, it seems that rumours of a 'super injunction' might be true.
- drumhead 3y ago
  A certain prime ministers alleged daughter?
  - hermitcrab 3y ago
    Daddy BoJo or sugar daddy BloJo? I think we should be told.