Editing The Spectator (section)

=== 2024 acquisition by Paul Marshall ===
{{further|The Daily Telegraph#2023–2024 takeover bid}}
On 10 September 2024, ''The Spectator'' was purchased for £100 million by [[Paul Marshall (investor)|Sir Paul Marshall]], hedge fund manager and co-owner of [[GB News]].<ref>{{cite news |date=10 September 2024 |title=GB News owner buys Spectator magazine for £100m |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8l35xl1l2o |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Daniel |last2=Fisher |first2=Lucy |date=10 September 2024 |title=Paul Marshall bolsters media baron credentials with £100mn Spectator purchase |url=https://www.ft.com/content/05895515-c8ec-475b-a6fe-406c9741a844 |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> The final price came after a bidding war against [[Rupert Murdoch]],<ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Christopher |date=2024-09-10 |title=Andrew Neil, The Spectator's big beast, goes down swinging after £100m takeover by GB News tycoon |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/10/gb-news-owner-paul-marshall-completes-deal-the-spectator/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> and was more than double the £40m valuation given by media analysts.<ref name=":02" />

''Spectator'' chairman [[Andrew Neil]], who clashed with Marshall during his brief tenure at GB News, announced his resignation with immediate effect one hour after the deal was completed.<ref name=":02" /> He warned Marshall over editorial independence,<ref name=":12" /> telling ''Spectator'' staff: "My greatest regret is that I have not been able to find you a new home guaranteed to nurture the unique chemistry of ''The Spectator''. [...] I cannot tell if the new owners will have the same reverence for editorial independence since they have not shared their thinking."<ref name=":02" /> Neil had previously opposed Marshall's bid, telling the [[The i Paper|''i'']] in March: "With Marshall it’s just a matter of we don’t like him and we don’t want him. That’s a personal preference."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherwin |first=Adam |date=2024-03-12 |title=Andrew Neil set to leave Spectator even if UAE Telegraph takeover fails |url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/andrew-neil-uae-telegraph-deal-quit-2953162 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=The i Paper |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Spectator was sold by [[RedBird Capital Partners|Redbird IMI]], whose CEO Jeff Zucker had previously called Marshall "unfit to own a newspaper", due to [[Paul Marshall (investor)#Engagement with far-right Twitter content|his activity on Twitter]], when Marshall and RedBird were battling to take control of ''The Telegraph''.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Oliver |first1=Matt |last2=Riley-Smith |first2=Ben |date=2024-03-08 |title=GB News |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/03/08/andrew-neil-opposed-uae-telegraph-claims-refused-job/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> A Conservative MP told the ''Financial Times'' that Marshall's agenda "was one of destroying the Conservative party and having a new form of Trumpism in the UK", referencing populist GB News coverage. Another Conservative MP, on the right of the party, welcomed Marshall's proprietorship, describing Marshall as "thoughtful and interested in ideas, not tribally Conservative but committed to the best traditions of liberal democracy".<ref name=":03">{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Daniel |last2=Fisher |first2=Lucy |date=10 September 2024 |title=Paul Marshall bolsters media baron credentials with £100mn Spectator purchase |url=https://www.ft.com/content/05895515-c8ec-475b-a6fe-406c9741a844 |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Financial Times}}</ref> The acquisition included ''The Spectator's'' sister title ''[[Apollo (magazine)|Apollo]]'' and added both titles to Marshall's OQS Media group, to be jointly published with [[UnHerd]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Maher |first=Bron |date=10 September 2024 |title=Paul Marshall pledges to fix 'underinvestment' in Spectator as sale goes through |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/magazines/paul-marshall-spectator-acquisition-underinvestment/ |work=Pres Gazette}}</ref> OQS chief executive Freddie Sayers indicated an intent to expand in North America.<ref name=":03" /> 

On 25 September 2024, former [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] [[Michael Gove]] was appointed as editor of ''The Spectator'', replacing Fraser Nelson, who became associate editor, with [[Charles Moore, Baron Moore of Etchingham|Charles Moore]] becoming non-executive chair to replace Andrew Neil.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rayner |first=Gordon |date=2024-09-25 |title=Michael Gove takes helm in new era for The Spectator |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/25/michael-gove-appointed-editor-spectator/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/2024.09.25-135959/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/09/25/michael-gove-appointed-editor-spectator/ |archive-date=2024-09-25 |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Gove is considered a long-standing ally of Paul Marshall.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Geoghegan |first=Peter |date=2025-03-06 |title=Making Media Great Again |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n04/peter-geoghegan/making-media-great-again |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=London Review of Books |language=en |volume=47 |issue=4 |issn=0260-9592}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Graystone |first=Andrew |date=2024-03-27 |title=The Marshall Plan |url=https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/65415/the-marshall-plan-paul-marshall-gb-news |archive-date= |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Prospect Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The ''[[New Statesman]]'' reported that ''Spectator'' staff were shocked at Nelson being replaced, after Nelson had written an article praising Marshall when the acquisition was announced.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phillips |first=Alison |date=2024-09-25 |title=Paul Marshall anoints Michael Gove as editor of the Spectator |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/media/2024/09/paul-marshall-anoints-michael-gove-as-editor-of-the-spectator |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref> One week earlier, Nelson had told the [[British Society of Magazine Editors]] that editors should "actively ignore" suggestions from owners, adding: "If you get sacked for it, you get sacked for it – but you hold the line. Famous last words." Regarding Marshall, he said: "I should be having no contact with him. In the same way I had no contact with the Barclays when they owned The Spectator."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tobitt |first=Charlotte |date=2024-09-25 |title=Michael Gove to replace Fraser Nelson as Spectator editor under new ownership |url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/magazines/michael-gove-to-replace-fraser-nelson-as-spectator-editor-under-new-ownership/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/2025.04.03-134635/https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/magazines/michael-gove-to-replace-fraser-nelson-as-spectator-editor-under-new-ownership/ |archive-date=2025-04-03 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Press Gazette |language=en-US |quote=Speaking on a panel for the British Society of Magazine Editors less than a week ago, Nelson said the relationship between editor and proprietor should be “no relationship at all”. “The editor is backed or sacked but never second guessed, never steered,” he said, adding that Marshall “obviously likes us, he paid £100m for us – but I should be having no contact with him. In the same way I had no contact with the Barclays when they owned The Spectator. I think in 15 years they spoke to me about ten times.” Nelson added that editors should “actively ignore” suggestions from proprietors and that: “If you get sacked for it, you get sacked for it – but you hold the line. Famous last words.”}}</ref>