Sex, walk-outs and grovelling fuel record sales at Spectator

By Dominic Ponsford

Controversy appears to have fuelled sales of The Spectator which have risen to a record high.

In recent months: media columnist Stephen Glover
has walked out after complaining that his column was spiked, editor
Boris Johnson was forced to make a grovelling apology to the people of
Liverpool over a piece about the death of hostage Ken Bigley and
publisher Kimberley Quinn has been embroiled in the David Blunkett
paternity affair.

According to the six-month magazine ABC figures
sales of the right-of-centre weekly topical magazine have gone up 4.4 per cent year-on-year to 66,105 – a
record in the its 177-year history.

Spectator chief executive Andrew Neil said:
“These are very encouraging sales figures, which perhaps prove the
maxim that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

“The momentum continues: sales and ad revenues
for the first five weeks of 2005 are comfortably ahead of budget. I
have set the commerical and editorial teams a target of 80,000 sales
within three years. I’m beginning to think we should be even more
ambitious.”

Editor Boris Johnson said: “The Spectator
continues to go from strength to strength, we thank all our loyal
readers for contributing to our ongoing success. Onwards and upwards.”