Suzanne Moore responds to Alastair Campbell via Madame Arcati
Fancy the New Statesman ridding itself of the utterly enchanting writer Suzanne Moore - and not even bothering to tell her. She'd written for the publication for 20 years, then last week it was guest-edited by the hideous bully and Iraq War apologist Alastair Campbell. This was the last straw for Suzanne who volubly recalled, unlike its useless, hapless and pompous editor Jason Cowley, that the mag had opposed the Iraq invasion. She opened her copy of the mag and saw her name had been dropped from the masthead.
She told all in the Mail on Sunday yesterday, click here. She writes: "I know it is now possible to get fired by text or email but have I been fired without even realising it? Quite a feat, even by my amateurish standards. Also, have I been fired from a nominal position for which I didn’t get paid?"
Suzanne got in touch with me this morning about the matter, and in particular, in response to a long page 3 report in today's Guardian. She is incensed by Campbell who's quoted as saying in an email to the paper: "I had no idea she worked for the New Statesman. I don't read the Mail on Sunday. But professing commitment to leftwing values in that rightwing rag lends a somewhat weakened credibility to anything she says."
Suzanne writes to Madame Arcati: "What Campbell says is surprisingly lies. He knows who I write for or he should as his partner Fiona once came round to interview me and my daughter about state education. But perhaps they just don't talk anymore. Who can say?"
Certainly I shall not be reading the Statesman anymore - it requires a change of owners(s), editor as well as culture. You can't have a leftwing magazine run by practising right-wingers.
Meantime my congratulations to Suzanne on her principled stand.
17 comments:
I, too, have cancelled my NS sub over Campbell though the rot started way back. The arrogance and the ignorance of the magazine is breathtaking and I admire Moore's stance, if not her choice of newspaper.
Bizarre that Suzanne Moore contacts Madame Arcati. There must be more to this story than meets the eye, something personal.
Why bizarre? Whats personal is I like Madame and her taste and she likes my shoes!
Campbell is a disgrace but I can't help thinking that the Statesman owners will be gratified by all the publicity this affair's getting and may encourage some idiots to buy the magazine. I see also that St Blair has own god slot in the offending issue. It's an act of madness bringing all these relics in when the magazine stood against Iraq, Blair (for the most part - even listing his war crimes under editor Kampfner) and much of what he stood for.
As for Campbell, he is much more a figure of psychiatric interest than political.
It is true that Suzanne wears adorable shoes and is that rare creature - a stylish (former) New Statesman writer.
Suazanne Moore is just part of the chatterati - any controversy in that class is almost always a kind of ritualised dance with mirrors as each ego gets off on the reflection. I have no doubt Moore will make up with Cowley and that she'll be having din-sins with Alastair and Fiona before long.
I'm not persuaded that the creature who writes this website could care less about the NS, Moore or anything. The striking thing about Arcati is its opportunism.
The New Statesman is what Hello! would be like if edited by Stalin or Gordon Brown for that matter. An utterly pompeous and excruciating read. I have demanded my wife cancel our sub and she is close to agreeing.
NS are not posting comments that are of a critical nature towards Campbell. Perhaps they are afraid they wont be able to get him off the ceiling.
I have tried to post the following 6 times.
Your expecting to win the next GE by nominating a 22 year old for what will be a safe vacant labour seat?
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1163794/Labour-war-Blairites-launch-plot-parachute-poll-gurus-daughter-22-safe-seat.html
Now i know there are no depths to what you will sink.
If she was related to you nepotism would be a mild way to describe your methods.
Have you set out to deliberatley destroy what little chance we had of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat?
Those who create also destroy. lets hope its New Labour, their creation that they now destroy and let us reclaim what is rightfully the working classes.
I will not be having dinner with them EVER. Are you completely mental?
That's right, Madame A is a journalist.
A journalist? OK, I'm suing.
The Campbell issue was rather good, and if I were Cowley I'd be nervous. Certainly it seems strange that a lacklustre magazine suddenly hits the headlines - when the de jure editor is away.
Oh my God. Give me a couple of weeks to have a personal crisis and I come back and I might have known this would all be going on over here. I love you guys.
Mme A, when are we going to have that drink?
By the way - it comes to something, does it not. I should really be blogging this, if only I had the energy. Alistair Campbell! As if we ever thought anyone would be taking him seriously! And the NS of all places. Bring back Harold Macmillan, I say.
(verification word: 'downity')
Ms Baroque - what personal crisis? You must tell me everything, I'll visit your blog. We must meet. I'm starting to meet quite a few of my blogging friends x
Maybe the worm has turned and Campbell et al are going to get whats due. Less than two hours ago the foreign secretary David Miliband announced the inquiry into the Iraq war will take place as soon as practical after June 2009.
Now your guess as to what "as soon as practical" means is as good as mine. But i am sure Brown wants this out of the way prior to any general election taking place. He wont want it left over for the Tories to get the inquiry in motion.
The inquiry panel will be carefully selected to reflect the interpretation that Brown seeks to prevail.
Yes it will be a white wash.
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