The Spectator Magazine 12+

IT depts justify their existence by making, in the main, unnecessary and superfluous alterations to something that worked perfectly well in the beginning, and the new Spectator app is no exception.

This is not to say the original app was perfect; it wasn’t. But the second revision (also unasked for, except possibly by the IT department) removed, for example, the ability to search the etymology of words through a Wikipedia link which was a great asset in the first app.

After many complaints - and I was an early and vigourous participator -this facility was restored, but only grudgingly and to a measly degree.

This current version jumps all over the place, takes the reader back to the beginning unasked, cannot find the readers previous location without a degree of accuracy and flickers and flits around the screen like a newborn colt.

I have two recommendations to IT staff. Firstly if something works don’t muck around with it, and secondly don’t alter things unless the customers ask you to. Always remember, the customer knows the app far better than you think you do - they are the ones who use it, not you.

Some of the writers are ok as long you can stick a one note myopic viewpoint. It claims to be irreverent to authority but if you read this rag long enough it is apparent that it largely reflects the perceptions of right wing, Brexiteer Londoners who fancy themselves a version of intellectual free thinking. Judging by the remarks in the online Comments section, The Spectator attracts unedifying numbers of the British alt-right: bigots, bullies and intolerant boneheads seeking to shout down with scatological insult anyone with a different point of view. The overall tone is unpleasant. The Spectator promotes the ideal of freedom without responsibility of the individual, whether in regard to personal behaviour, to one’s neighbours and to the wider community, or to the outlying natural world. Its fig leaf is wit, by which the writers seek to seduce the reader to The Spectator’s louche perspective. Vile, in a word.

I stopped reading magazines many years ago when I got fed up with Men’s Health and FHM.

But back in late 2015 I started finding politics a lot more exciting when Trump and the Brexit Referendum started dominating the internet.

By 2016 I was reading the Spectator regularly and checking the website most days. Whilst I think the magazine is a tad expensive at £4.95 an issue, at least if you buy it every week, a monthly subscription fee of £9.99 for unlimited (online) access to the website and unlimited access to ALL back issues (going back as fat as 1800 and something) is a heck of a bargain.

Remember not all web articles feature in the magazine so the online subscription gives you everything. There is also a free podcast and daily email news updates, so instead of wading through a load of rubbish and adverts online each day I just rely on email updates each day to keep me up to date with what’s going on.

If you don’t want to buy the magazine each week or don’t have time to read it, go for the cheaper monthly digital subscription and have EVERY issue and article in your phone! Great value and highly recommended.