Private Eye

For other uses, see Private eye (disambiguation).

Private Eye
Magazine cover dominated by large colour photograph overlaid with cartoon-style speech bubbles, captioned with tabloid-style headline, below a yellow-and-green masthead. There is no prose on the cover.
A July 2011 cover following the closure of the News of the World, making ironic use of a famous 1982 headline from The Sun
EditorIan Hislop
CategoriesSatirical news magazine
FrequencyFortnightly
Circulation233,118 (Jul–Dec 2023)
[1]
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
CompanyPressdram Ltd
Based inLondon W1
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.private-eye.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata
ISSN0032-888X

Private Eye is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961.[2] It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and lampooning of public figures. It is also known for its in-depth investigative journalism into under-reported scandals and cover-ups.[3]

Private Eye is Britain's best-selling current affairs news magazine,[4] and such is its long-term popularity and impact that many of its recurring in-jokes have entered popular culture in the United Kingdom. The magazine bucks the trend of declining circulation for print media, having recorded its highest-ever circulation in the second half of 2016.[5] It is privately owned and highly profitable.[6]

With a "deeply conservative resistance to change",[7] it has resisted moves to online content or glossy format: it has always been printed on cheap paper and resembles, in format and content, a comic rather than a serious magazine.[6][8] Both its satire and investigative journalism have led to numerous libel suits.[3] It is known for the use of pseudonyms by its contributors, many of whom have been prominent in public life—this even extends to a fictional proprietor, Lord Gnome.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Private Eye – circulation". Audit Bureau of Circulations . 20 February 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  2. ^ "Covers Library: Issue 1". Private Eye. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b Douglas, Torin (14 October 2011). "Private Eye and public scandals". Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. ^ Dowell, Ben (16 February 2012). "Private Eye hits highest circulation for more than 25 years". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Private Eye hits highest circulation in 55-year history 'which is quite something given that print is meant to be dead'". Press Gazette. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b Erlanger, Steven (11 December 2015). "An Enduring and Erudite Court Jester in Britain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. ^ Anthony, Andrew (9 April 2000). "The laughing Gnome". The Observer. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Ian Hislop: Provocateur in the public eye". 30 April 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Alan Cowell: Letter from Britain". The New York Times. 30 June 2005. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. ^ Barendt, E. M. (2016). Anonymous speech: literature, law and politics. Oxford. p. 35. ISBN 9781849466134. OCLC 940796081.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)