Private Eye

Private Eye is a news and current affairs magazine, published fortnightly at the price of £1.50. The magazine is most notorious for its heavily satirical and relentless approach to investigative journalism, hence the title ‘Private Eye’.

The main head behind this controversial magazine is Ian Hislop, the editor. He is best known for his participation in ‘Have I Got News for You’, an equally satirical news program. Hislop has been named the ‘the most sued man in English legal history’ due to the many libellous claims while working on the Private Eye magazine.

A famous case held against the Private Eye was by James Goldsmith. The magazine had said that he allegedly was involved in sheltering Lord Lucan, a suspected murderer. Goldsmith issued over 60 writs and Private Eye was financially threatened. This resulted in a settlement of a public apology. Although this ended with no real damage, other cases against the magazine have been known to end not so well. An example of this is the Sutcliffe case, where the magazine was sued £600,000 after allegations that Sonia Sutcliffe, the wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, was using her husband’s profile in order to make money. The £600,000 that Sutcliffe was given then reduced to £60,000 on appeal. Hislop commented on the situation saying: ‘If that’s justice, then I’m a banana’.

The Private Eye’s audience is predominantly 25-54 year old ABC1s. Over half have received a degree or some sort of higher education, and 68% are male. Their media pack also released information that 68,000 readers renew their vehicles every 3 years, and that over 100,000 have been abroad for business in the last year. This information is particularly interesting when you consider the advertisements in conjunction. Companies and organisations that regularly feature in the magazine consist of Jaguar, British Airways and Oxfam, thus reinforcing these seemingly trivial statistics.

The magazine’s front page is iconic and worth mentioning as it defines its satirical and mocking nature. Hislop explains that they ‘use a current photograph and stick a bubble on it’, thus creating a comic strip out of serious current issues. There are a number of notable covers, all stated in this video featuring Hislop commenting on his favourite ones. Recently Rupert Murdoch was featured alongside Rebekah Brooks and James Murdoch under the title ‘Gotcha’. This was in retaliation to Murdoch’s headline, ‘Gotcha’, when Britain sank an Argentinian ship in the Falklands War. This is an example of how deep some references may go in order to make an impact.

The general set out of the Private Eye is somewhat dated but simple enough to connect with the target audience. The sections featured range from News to Letters and from Literary Review to ‘Commentatorballs’, the suffix ‘balls’ being very popular throughout the magazine to imply a mocking tone. Readers are encouraged to send in humorous photographs, and make personal adverts for the ‘Classified’ section. This creates a sense of community which most news outlets cannot achieve.

Overall, Private eye’s approach to journalism emphasises the idea that the media are the watchdogs of society, existing to make their own agenda for the public.