12 Comments
User's avatar
Susan Hill's avatar

Very pleased you are being the Private Eye of substack and doing timely exposes.

Fraser Nelson's avatar

I won't make a habit of it! The Spectator takeover left me more familiar than I'd like to be with the experience of this corporate mincer - Telegraph is doing so well and it's criminal that they should face cuts at precisely the time they need to invest. Am hoping updates like this will make Cardinale and the RedBird crew realise they cannot promise investment in public and impose cuts in private..

All Mouth And Trousers's avatar

Let's be honest newspapers are finished.

They have lied to the public for money, especially during Covid. The quality of writing and journalism is poor. Trust in them is lower than ever.

Must be tough if you're in the industry but as someone who watched the miners, steelworkers, car makers and general manufacturers in this country get sold down the river while the press said it was a "good thing" and that people could "work in retail" and then watched as we were told we "had" to take in millions of migrants "for diversity" all I can say is that not many will weep for you.

Mr T's avatar

Special pleading. Nothing more.

Foreigners up and down the socio-economic hierarchy have been suppressing and depressing the prosperity of Brits for 20 years and counting. "learn to code" was the refrain at the time as I recall.

But now - now it comes to Fraser's world - we see the return of principle. Or maybe we should stick to the principle of the last 20 years and tell those journos who didn't get employed they should click Captcha codes for LLMs?

Fraser Nelson's avatar

Hi Gary. I have no problem with foreign investors: Nikkei of Japan have been exemplary proprietors of the FT. The issue is when governments own newspapers: 'freedom of the press' means freedom from government. That's the principle.

All Mouth And Trousers's avatar

There is no "freedom of the press" and hasn't been since Covid. You all peddled the same lies, ignore the hundreds of thousands of protestors, didn't hold the govt to account before, during or after lockdowns or jabs. And you still aren't telling the truth about Covid or vaccine damage. Ming the Merciless can own the Telegraph if he wants, it won't make a blind bit of difference because the people don't read it.

Fraser Nelson's avatar

You evidently didn't read The Spectator during lockdown. It certainly was not as you describe

Mr T's avatar

There's maybe 30 newspapers and news magazines in the UK. 1 in 30 gov't owned isn't perfect, but basically fine.

George's avatar

Nobody has ever invested in a newspaper primarily to make financial return on investment.

Anotherone's avatar

Remember remember November..

Patrick Heren's avatar

American private equity is completely piratical. They worship the bottom line, but completely lack, a moral compass≥