The Phoenix (magazine)
.jpg) October 2005 cover |
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| Type | magazine |
|---|---|
| Format | fortnightly satirical |
| Owner | Penfield Enterprises Ltd. |
| Editor | Paddy Prendeville |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Headquarters | 44 Lower Baggot Street Dublin 2 Ireland |
| Official website | Official Website |
The Phoenix is an Irish news and satire magazine, inspired by the British magazine Private Eye, and a source of major investigative journalism in Ireland. Edited for more than twenty years by Paddy Prendeville, it has been published regularly, generally fortnightly, since 1983, with a larger annual issue each December.
Contents |
[edit] History and structure
The magazine was launched in January 1983 and is published fortnightly by Penfield Enterprises Ltd. The magazine was set up by John Mulcahy and he is believed to remain the owner[1]. It had an ABC-audited circulation of 19,014 for 2004 and 18,268 in 2007[2]. The current editor is Paddy Prendiville, in office since about a year after the magazine was started[3].
The name Phoenix is a reference to its "emergence from the ashes" of two of John Mulcahy's previous publications. These were the republican periodical Hibernia, which ceased publishing in 1980 after a libel action, and the Sunday Tribune newspaper, which first collapsed financially in 1982.[1]
[edit] Sources
The magazine secures much of its material from "insider" sources, and promotes contact with its Goldhawk phone line. [4]
[edit] Layout and Style
Features in the magazine include the news column, detailed profiles ("Pillars of Society" and "The Young Bloods"), a satirical section "Craic and Codology" which included for many years a parody of Bertie Ahern entitled "Da Diary of a Nortsoide Taoiseach", and now has a similar section for Brian Cowen entitled "Biffo's Briefs", and an extensive financial column, "Moneybags".
Like Private Eye, the cover features a photo montage with a speech bubble, putting ironic or humorous comments into the mouths of the famous in response to topical events. Other features perhaps inspired by Private Eye include an "Apology" section (where the magazine offers an ersatz apology for the failings or success of some person or event), "That Menu in Full", the use of ("That's enough of this. -Ed" type interjections) and their derivatives, and the Christmas Gift lists where implausible gifts with ridiculous features are offered for sale.
In contrast to Private Eye, the Phoenix is printed on magazine stock rather than newsprint, and uses colour, including photography, quite extensively.
[edit] Position
Favourite targets include other media operations (in the "Fit to Print ?" section), especially Tony O'Reilly's Independent Newspapers.[citation needed]
Sinn Féin, the Socialist Party and other Irish left-wing politicians get a less hostile ride from the magazine (John Mulcahy was a supporter of the Anti H-block movement) than the opposition Fine Gael and the Labour Party.[citation needed] The Workers' Party of Ireland in their heyday during the 1980s was also a frequent target of satire and investigation by the magazine which resulted in John Mulcahy receiving threats from the Official IRA.[5]
[edit] Legal actions
A number of legal actions have been taken against the magazine; notable court cases which ended in settlement have been taken by politician Avril Doyle and former US diplomat George Dempsey. The biggest libel actions were caused by "two dead clerics" in the words of Paddy Prendeville - Michael Cleary who had fathered a child and Stephen Hilliard an anglican priest and Irish Times journalist who joined the IRA in the 1960's and worked as a Training Officer [6]. In both cases the magazine was finally vindicated. [7]
[edit] Trivia
The voice of Goldhawk in the radio advertisements is a parody of Charles Haughey.
[edit] References and footnotes
- ^ a b Dublin, Ireland: The Irish Times, 7 Jan. 2006, p. 14, ”Publisher who became monarch of the magazine sector.”
- ^ "Phoenix boast falls flat", Sunday Independent, 25 February 2007
- ^ O'Mahony, Catherine (2003-05-25). "Phoenix still rising after 20 years". The Sunday Business Post. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/05/25/story515697977.asp. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
- ^ Financial Regulator's report 2007, p.7.
- ^ The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party
- ^ The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party
- ^ http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/05/25/story515697977.asp
