Ignorance Is Bliss

[Hymie]

Here is an interesting letter from the current issue of Private Eye:-

‘Sir,

I am a fairly new subscriber to the Eye. Each edition makes me upset and angry. The amount of corruption at both national and local level is appalling. Ignorance really was bliss.

Sheila Kerr-Smith, Worthing’

[davebro]

I agree - cancelled my subscription. Loads of shenanigans going on that (even with our awesome power at the ballot box - haha) we are unable to address.

Just depressing & there's enough of that going round as it is.

[Hymie]

Although some might find it all very depressing – there is always something within the magazine that makes the £1.46 per issue price (annual subscription) worthwhile.

[davebro]

yes - but you can get some of it on line for free (including the crossword!)

[naomi24]

//Each edition makes me upset and angry.//

She should give it up before it becomes a bad habit.

[douglas9401]

I remember buying my first Private Eye. Quite the eye opener.

[Hymie]

My own observation on the corruption reported week after week in Private Eye, is that it is only the corruption their reporters uncover – there must be much, much more that never sees the light of day.

[ToraToraTora]

Hymie a Private Eyer! PMSL! Who'd have thunk it?

[FatticusInch]

Talking of Private Eye, apologies for the minor derailment Hymie,
HIGNFY Boris Special next Friday on BBC.

His reputation will undoubtedly get a kicking, but thems the breaks.

[gulliver1]

FCI @ 11.11 Can't wait to see it .

[Hymie]

Based on 26 issues a year, with a subscription price of £1.46 and sales of around ¼ of a million/issue – the magazine’s annual gross income is probably around £10 million. If the magazine is making 10% profit on this, then it’s probably worth around £10 million.

If I was the UK government, I would certainly be willing to spend £10 million of your money buying it and shutting it down; I might even ask others involved in corruption for a contribution.

To my mind £10 million of the public’s money spent on stopping the general public finding out about government corruption – would be money well spent.

[zebo]

Over the years, and it's many years, I've lost count of the number of scandels becoming common knowledge that I first read about in PE! Cyril Smith was the big one, in every way

[davebro]

Sources say Hislop's net worth is $1.5 million. I would think that's a gross underestimate. (Maybe he's hiding something?)

[JDavis]

That's right, zebo. Think they were heavily involved in exposing the Post Office scandal too. The former CEO, Paula Vennells, should be in jail but it's the Establishment protecting their own.

[ichkeria]

If you read PE regularly then naturally you are going to have a constant diet of the sort of stuff they do.
And imagining that the government is going to close it down presumably adds to the misery :-)
Why make matters worse?
Look at Alexei Navalny for example. He really was “shut down” - very nearly fatally.
So at least be cheered that stuff comes to light and we’re all here to read about it

[Canary42]

The most significant post so far in this thread is that of zebo. The Eye's investigative journalism is avidly scoured by Hacks from the major papers to identify possible scoops .

[Canary42]

///She should give it up before it becomes a bad habit.///

That's right, get those blinkers on.

[Hymie]

Ian Hislop is the editor of Private Eye not the owner; Pressdram Ltd owns/prints Private Eye, although Hislop is also one of the Pressdram directors.

Looking at the latest accounts, the company is only valued at around £4 million, so some Tory benefactor could buy it with their loose change and have it print pro-Tory articles.

[Tilly2]

I don't think Ian Hislop would stick around in that case.

[davebro]

I think I read (and posted) earlier that he & Paul Morton get 20 odd grand each per show for HIGNFY.

Old rope springs to mind!

[davebro]

they rarely say more than a dozen words each.