Editing The Spectator (section)

==1975–2005==
===Henry Keswick and Alexander Chancellor===
In 1975, Creighton sold ''The Spectator'' to [[Henry Keswick (businessman)|Henry Keswick]], again for £75,000 (Creighton sold the 99 Gower Street premises separately, so the magazine moved to 56 Doughty Street).<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 July 2003 |title=Howard Creighton Obituary |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=UK |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1435493/Harold-Creighton.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 January 2011 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1435493/Harold-Creighton.html |archive-date=11 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Keswick was chairman of the [[Jardines (company)|Jardine Matheson]] multinational corporation. He was drawn to the paper partly because he harboured political aspirations (the paper's perk as a useful stepping stone to Westminster was, by now, well established), but also because his father had been a friend of [[Peter Fleming (writer)|Peter Fleming]], its well-known columnist (under the name "Strix"). Keswick gave the job of editor to "the only journalist he knew",<ref name="Courtauld" /> [[Alexander Chancellor]], an old family friend and his mother's godson, with whom he had been at [[Eton College|Eton]] and [[Cambridge University|Cambridge]]. Before then, Chancellor had worked at [[Reuters]] news agency and had been a scriptwriter and reporter for [[ITN]]. In spite of his relative inexperience, he was to become known as "one of the best editors in the history of ''The Spectator''".<ref name="Courtauld" />

Chancellor's editorship of the paper relied principally on a return to earlier values. He adopted a new format and a more traditional weekly style, with the front page displaying five cover lines above the leader. Most significantly, he recognised the need "to bring together a number of talented writers and, with the minimal of editorial interference, let them write".<ref name="Courtauld" /> To this end he persuaded [[Auberon Waugh]] (who had been sacked by Nigel Lawson) to return from the ''[[New Statesman]]'', and enticed [[Richard West (journalist)|Richard West]] and [[Jeffrey Bernard]] from the same magazine. Another columnist recruited by Chancellor was [[Taki Theodoracopulos]] whose column ‘High Life’ was then printed beside Bernard's ‘Low Life’. Taki's column, frequently criticised for its content by the press,<ref>Bell, Matthew. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/whats-the-point-of-taki-if-he-isnt-offensive-any-more-1974383.html "What's the point of Taki if he isn't offensive any more?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417232333/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/what-s-the-point-of-taki-if-he-isn-t-offensive-any-more-1974383.html |date=17 April 2022 }}, ''The Independent on Sunday'', 16 May 2010; [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/oct/21/conservatives.pressandpublishing Leader: "Selective spectator"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201230001/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/oct/21/conservatives.pressandpublishing |date=1 December 2016 }}, ''The Guardian'', 21 October 2004.</ref> remains in the paper. In September 1978, a 96-page issue was released to mark ''The Spectator''{{'}}s 150th anniversary. [[William Rees-Mogg]] congratulated the paper in a ''[[The Times|Times]]''{{'}}s leading article, praising it in particular for its important part in "the movement away from [[Collectivism and individualism|collectivism]]".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Broyde |first=Michael J. |date=22 June 2017 |title=The Movement Away from Secular Values in the Religious Community |journal=Oxford Scholarship Online |volume=1 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190640286.003.0003}}</ref>

====Charles Moore====
Chancellor was replaced by the 27-year-old [[Charles Moore (journalist)|Charles Moore]] in February 1984, after the magazine's then owner Algy Cluff had become concerned that ''The Spectator'' was "lacking in political weight" and considered Chancellor to be "commercially irresponsible".<ref name="Courtauld" /> Moore had been a leader writer at ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' before Chancellor recruited him to ''The Spectator'' as political commentator. Under Moore, the paper became more political than it had been under Chancellor. The new editor adopted an approach that was, in general, pro-[[Margaret Thatcher]], while showing no restraint in opposing her on certain issues. The paper called the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]] "a fraudulent prospectus" in 1985, came out against the [[Single European Act]], and in 1989 criticised the [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|handover]] of Hong Kong to [[People's Republic of China|China]]. Moore wrote that, if Britain failed to allow the city's [[UK passport]] holders [[Right of abode in the United Kingdom|right of abode]] in Britain, "we shall have to confess that, for the first time in our history, we have forced Britons to be slaves."<ref>''The Spectator'', 10 June 1989</ref> Moore also introduced several new contributors, including a restaurant column by [[Nigella Lawson]] (the former editor's daughter), and a humorous column by [[Craig Brown (satirist)|Craig Brown]]. When Taki was briefly imprisoned for cocaine possession Moore refused to accept his resignation, explaining publicly: "We expect our High Life columnist to be high some of the time."<ref name="Courtauld" />

''The Spectator'' changed hands again in 1985, by which time it was facing financial meltdown, having an accumulated an overdraft of over £300,000.{{how|date=July 2023}} Cluff had reached the conclusion that the paper "would be best secured in the hands of a publishing group", and sold it to Australian company [[Fairfax Media|John Fairfax]], which promptly paid off the overdraft. With the support of its new proprietor, the paper was able to widen its readership through subscription drives and advertising, reaching a circulation of 30,000 in 1986, exceeding the circulation of the ''[[New Statesman]]'' for the first time. The magazine was again sold in 1988, after an uncertain period during which several candidates, including [[Rupert Murdoch]], attempted to buy the magazine. Moore wrote to Murdoch, saying: "Most of our contributors and many of our readers would be horrified at the idea of your buying ''The Spectator''. They believe you are autocratic and that you have a bad effect on journalism of quality&nbsp;– they cite ''[[The Times]]'' as the chief example."<ref name="Courtauld" />

===Dominic Lawson and Frank Johnson===
As ''The Spectator'' was bought by the [[Telegraph Group]], Moore resigned the editorship in 1990 to become deputy editor of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. He was replaced by his own deputy editor, [[Dominic Lawson]]—the former editor's son. Shortly after becoming editor, Lawson became responsible for the resignation of a cabinet minister when he interviewed the [[Secretary of State for Trade and Industry]], [[Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale|Nicholas Ridley]]. During the interview, Ridley described the proposed [[Economic and Monetary Union]] as "a German racket designed to take over the whole of Europe", and seemed to draw comparisons between the German Chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]] and [[Adolf Hitler]]. The interview appeared in the issue of 14 July 1990, the cover of which showed a cartoon by [[Nicholas Garland]] that showed Ridley painting a crude comb-over and a Hitler moustache onto a poster of Kohl. Ridley resigned from Thatcher's government immediately.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Lawson|first=Dominic|date=14 July 1990|url=https://c59574e9047e61130f13-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/ADF066927DB5403D9B70493E2B465BFF.pdf|title=Germany Calling|magazine=The Spectator|page=8|access-date=16 March 2024|via=Margaret Thatcher Foundation|archive-date=16 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240316030433/https://c59574e9047e61130f13-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/ADF066927DB5403D9B70493E2B465BFF.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Jonathan |date=22 September 2011 |title=From the archives: Ridley was right |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-ridley-was-right/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616161744/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/from-the-archives-ridley-was-right/ |archive-date=2024-06-16 |access-date=16 March 2024 |website=The Spectator}}</ref>

''The Spectator'' caused controversy in 1994 when it printed an article entitled "Kings of the Deal" on a claimed Jewish influence in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], written by [[William Cash (journalist)|William Cash]], who at the time was based in Los Angeles and working mainly for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', which had considered the article too risky to publish. Lawson thought Cash's idea was as old as Hollywood itself and that Lawson's being Jewish would mitigate adverse reactions to publication. There was considerable controversy. Although owner [[Conrad Black]] did not personally rebuke Lawson, [[Max Hastings]], then editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'', wrote with regard to Black, who also owned ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' at the time, "It was one of the few moments in my time with Conrad when I saw him look seriously rattled: 'You don't understand, Max. My entire interests in the United States and internationally could be seriously damaged by this'."<ref>{{cite web|last=Lawson|first=Dominic|date=25 January 2004|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/01/25/do2501.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/01/25/ixopinion.html|url-status=dead|title=If Conrad Black was a bully – I never saw it|website=The Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061228204101/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/01/25/do2501.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/01/25/ixopinion.html|archive-date=28 December 2006|access-date=16 March 2024}}</ref>

The article was defended by some conservatives. [[John Derbyshire]], who says he has "complicated and sometimes self-contradictory feelings about Jews", wrote on ''[[National Review Online]]'' regarding what he saw as the Jewish overreaction to the article that "It was a display of arrogance, cruelty, ignorance, stupidity, and sheer bad manners by rich and powerful people towards a harmless, helpless young writer, and the Jews who whipped up this preposterous storm should all be thoroughly ashamed of themselves".<ref>{{Cite web |title=John Derbyshire on NRO |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshireprint041001.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517171236/http://www.nationalreview.com/derbyshire/derbyshireprint041001.html |archive-date=17 May 2008 |access-date=18 April 2008 |website=National Review}}</ref> Lawson left in 1995 to become editor of ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'', and was replaced by a deputy editor of the same newspaper, [[Frank Johnson (journalist)|Frank Johnson]]. After the [[1997 United Kingdom general election]], Johnson averted a decline in ''The Spectator''{{'s}} sales by recruiting "[[New Labour]] contributors", and shifting the magazine's direction slightly away from politics. In 1996, the magazine's Christmas issue featured an interview with [[The Spice Girls]], in which the band members gave their "[[Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom|Euro-sceptic]] and generally anti-labour" views on politics. Shortly before her death [[Diana, Princess of Wales]], was depicted on the magazine's cover as the figurehead of [[Mohamed Al-Fayed]]'s boat, The Jonikal.<ref>''The Spectator'', 16 August 1997</ref>

===Boris Johnson===
Before joining ''The Spectator'' as editor, [[Boris Johnson]] had worked for ''[[The Times]]'', the Wolverhampton ''[[Wolverhampton Express and Star|Express & Star]]'', and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. He had also briefly been political commentator for ''The Spectator'' under Dominic Lawson, but Frank Johnson replaced him with [[Bruce Anderson (columnist)|Bruce Anderson]] in 1995. Succeeding Frank Johnson in 1999, Johnson increased ''Spectator'' subscriptions to a record 70,000 per year, and has been described as a "colourful editor".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grice |first=Andrew |date=10 December 2005 |title=An era ends at 'The Sextator' as Johnson chooses politics over journalism |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/an-era-ends-at-the-sextator-as-johnson-chooses-politics-over-journalism-518864.html |url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301212954/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/an-era-ends-at-the-sextator-as-johnson-chooses-politics-over-journalism-518864.html |archive-date=1 March 2020}}</ref> In the [[2001 United Kingdom general election]], Johnson was elected MP for [[Henley (UK Parliament constituency)|Henley]], and by 2004 had been made vice-chairman of the Conservative party, with a place in [[Michael Howard]]'s shadow cabinet. In 2003, he explained his editorial policy for ''The Spectator'' would "always be roughly speaking in favour of getting rid of Saddam, sticking up for Israel, free-market economics, expanding choice" and that the magazine was "not necessarily a [[Thatcherite]] Conservative or a [[neo-conservative]] magazine, even though in our editorial coverage we tend to follow roughly the conclusions of those lines of arguments."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Graff |first=Vincent |date=10 June 2003 |title=The blond bombshell |work=The Independent |location=UK |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/the-blond-bombshell-540261.html |url-status=dead |access-date=9 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123065155/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/the-blond-bombshell-540261.html |archive-date=23 January 2011}}</ref> In February 2003, Johnson was the subject of a [[Scotland Yard]] inquiry relating to a column by [[Taki Theodoracopulos]] titled "Thoughts on Thuggery" targeting barrister [[Peter Herbert (lawyer)|Peter Herbert]], a black man.<ref name="Herbert">{{Cite web |last=Hopkins |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Hopkins |date=28 February 2008 |title=Spectator and its Tory MP editor may face charges over Taki race rant |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/feb/28/uk.pressandpublishing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215144/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/feb/28/uk.pressandpublishing |archive-date=2 June 2021 |access-date=31 May 2021 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Following the column's publication, Herbert had received over 40 racist emails, mostly from the United States, some of which contained death threats.<ref name="Herbert" /> Johnson called the column "a terrible thing" which "should never have gone in."<ref name="Herbert" />

In October 2004, a ''Spectator'' editorial suggested that the death of the hostage [[Kenneth Bigley]] was being over-sentimentalised by the people of Liverpool, accusing them of indulging in a "vicarious victimhood" and of possessing a "deeply unattractive psyche".’<ref>''The Spectator'', 16 October 2004</ref> Simon Heffer had written the leader but, as editor, Johnson took full responsibility for it. Michael Howard subsequently ordered him to visit Liverpool on a "penitential pilgrimage".<ref>''The Spectator'', 23 October 2004</ref> At this time, the paper began jokingly to be referred to as the 'Sextator', owing to the number of sex scandals connected with the magazine during his editorship. These included an affair between columnist [[Rod Liddle]] and the magazine's receptionist, and Johnson's own affair with another columnist, [[Petronella Wyatt]]. Johnson at first denied the relationship, dismissing the allegations as "an inverted pyramid of piffle", but was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet in November 2004 when they turned out to be true. In the same year [[David Blunkett]], the Home Secretary, resigned from the government after it emerged he had been having an affair with the publisher of ''The Spectator'', [[Kimberly Quinn]], and had fast-tracked her nanny's visa application.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 December 2004 |title=Blunkett quits as home secretary |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4099581.stm |url-status=live |access-date=13 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904011637/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4099581.stm |archive-date=4 September 2017}}</ref>

In 2005, circulation was as high as 60,000 by the time Johnson left to be the Shadow Minister for Higher Education. On the announcement of his departure, [[Andrew Neil]], chairman of ''The Spectator''<ref>{{Cite web |title=A statement from the chairman of The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-statement-from-the-chairman-of-the-spectator/amp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519030117/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-statement-from-the-chairman-of-the-spectator/amp |archive-date=19 May 2021 |access-date=1 April 2021 |website=www.spectator.co.uk}}</ref><ref name="parliamentaryregister">{{Citation |title=Register of Journalists' Interests |date=22 August 2018 |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmjournl/journalists.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035650/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmjournl/journalists.htm |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=27 August 2018 |archive-date=28 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> paid tribute to his editorship;<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 December 2005 |title=Boris Johnson resigns as Spectator editor |work=Press Gazette |url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=32770&sectioncode=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113152846/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=32770 |archive-date=13 November 2007}}</ref> however, Neil later rebuked Johnson for having delegated most of his responsibilities to an assistant, in a [[Channel 4]] [[Dispatches (TV programme)|''Dispatches'']] episode titled ''Boris Johnson: Has He Run Out of Road?''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boris Johnson: Has He Run Out of Road? - All 4 |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/boris-johnson-has-he-run-out-of-road |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130203533/https://www.channel4.com/programmes/boris-johnson-has-he-run-out-of-road |archive-date=30 January 2022 |access-date=1 February 2022 |website=channel4.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Andrew Neil will examine Boris Johnson's political fight in Boris Johnson: Has He Run Out of Road? Tx: Sunday 30th January, 6:45pm, on Channel 4 and All 4 |url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/andrew-neil-will-examine-boris-johnsons-political-fight-boris-johnson-has-he-run-out |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201025045/https://www.channel4.com/press/news/andrew-neil-will-examine-boris-johnsons-political-fight-boris-johnson-has-he-run-out |archive-date=1 February 2022 |access-date=1 February 2022 |website=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Power |first=Ed |date=30 January 2022 |title=Anger, scorn and support as Andrew Neil returned to TV to take on Boris Johnson |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/01/30/anger-scorn-support-andrew-neil-returned-tv-take-boris-johnson/ |url-status=live |access-date=1 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201025100/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2022/01/30/anger-scorn-support-andrew-neil-returned-tv-take-boris-johnson/ |archive-date=1 February 2022}}</ref> During Johnson's editorship, [[Mary Wakefield (journalist)|Mary Wakefield]] began working at the magazine: she is now the magazine's commissioning editor and is married to Johnson's former political advisor [[Dominic Cummings]].<ref name="theindependent1">{{Cite news |last=Maya Oppenheim |date=5 July 2017 |title=Dominic Cummings: The Vote Leave chief who invented £350m claim before admitting Brexit was a mistake |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dominic-cummings-vote-leave-chief-invent-350-million-brexit-mistake-david-cameron-leave-eu-a7825601.html |url-status=live |access-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808091851/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/dominic-cummings-vote-leave-chief-invent-350-million-brexit-mistake-david-cameron-leave-eu-a7825601.html |archive-date=8 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="ft.com">{{Cite news |date=15 January 2020 |title=Dominic Cummings has 'done' Brexit. Now he plans to reinvent politics |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0bf8a910-372e-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226131202/https://www.ft.com/content/0bf8a910-372e-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4 |archive-date=26 February 2020}}</ref>

In 2004, the [[Barclay Brothers]] purchased the Telegraph Group from [[Hollinger International]] which included ''The Spectator'' within its titles.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/aug/17/telegraphmediagroup.pressandpublishing |title=Barclays bring in trusted lieutenants to Telegraph board |work=The Guardian |date=17 August 2004 |first=Chris |last=Tryhorn |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref>