The American Spectator magazine.

The American Spectator is a conservative U.S. monthly magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. From its founding in 1967 until the late 1980s, the small-circulation magazine featured the writings of authors such as Thomas Sowell, Tom Wolfe, P.J. O'Rourke, George F. Will, Patrick J. Buchanan, Alex Linder and Malcolm Muggeridge, although today the magazine is best known for its attacks in the 1990s on Bill Clinton and its "Arkansas Project" to discredit the president, funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife and the Bradley Foundation.^[1] Image File history File links Amer_Spect. ... Image File history File links Amer_Spect. ... American conservatism is a constellation of political ideologies within the United States under the blanket heading of conservative. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... R. (Robert) Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. ... A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Thomas Sowell Thomas Sowell (born 30 June 1930), is an American economist, political writer, and commentator. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Patrick Jake ORourke (born November 14, 1947) is an American political satirist, journalist, and writer. ... George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941 in Champaign, Illinois) is a American conservative editorialist, journalist, and author. ... Patrick Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (born November 2, 1938), usually known as Pat Buchanan, is an American conservative journalist and a well known television political commentator. ... Alex Linder Alex Linder (born 1966) is the owner and operator of the Vanguard News Network (VNN), a white supremacist website launched in 2000, one of the most active white supremacist sites on the Internet, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). ... Malcolm Muggeridge (March 24, 1903–November 14, 1990) was a British journalist, author, media personality, soldier, spy and Christian scholar. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the very late 1980s and from 2000 and beyond. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... The Arkansas Project is the general name of a series of investigations (mostly funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife) that were designed to damage and end the presidency of Bill Clinton. ... Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), a U.S. billionaire and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ... The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a large and influential right-wing foundation with about half a billion US dollars in assets. ...

Founding and history

The American Spectator was founded as The Alternative in 1967 by Tyrrell and other students at Indiana University, and was originally published in a tabloid format (it is now published in a traditional magazine format). Indiana University is the principal campus of the Indiana University system. ... Newspaper sizes in August 2005. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

After operating under the name The Alternative: An American Spectator for several years, in 1977 the magazine changed its name to The American Spectator because, in editor Tyrrell's words, "the word 'alternative' had come to be associated almost exclusively with radicals and with their way of life." In fact, Tyrrell had started the magazine as a conservative alternative to the student radicalism at the nation's universities in the 1960s. For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Students attending a lecture at the Helsinki University of Technology The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation verb stŭdērĕ, meaning to direct ones zeal at; hence a student is one who directs zeal at a subject. ... The term Radical (latin radix meaning root) has been used since the late 18th century as a label in political science for those favoring or trying to produce thoroughgoing or extreme political reforms which can include changes to the social order to a greater or lesser extent. ...

During the Reagan Administration, the magazine moved from Bloomington, Indiana to suburban Washington, D.C. President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981) Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. ... Location Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates , Government County Monroe Mayor Mark Kruzan Geographical characteristics Area     City 51. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C. in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia. ...

The publication gained prominence in the 1990s by reporting on political scandals. The March 1992 issue contained David Brock's expose on Clarence Thomas accuser Anita Hill, famously calling Hill "a bit nutty and a bit slutty." Brock and his colleague Danny Wattenberg soon moved on to a target of somewhat longer-lasting relevance: Hillary and Bill Clinton. A January 1994 article about then-President Bill Clinton's sex life contained the first reference in print to Clinton accuser Paula Jones, although the main topic of the article was Clinton's use of Arkansas state troopers to facilitate his extramarital sexual activities (see Troopergate). It only referred to Jones by her first name and corroborated few if any elements of her story. This article served as the pretext for Jones's lawsuit which started the chain of events which culminated in President Clinton's impeachment. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the very late 1980s and from 2000 and beyond. ... A political scandal is a scandal in which politicians engage in various illegal or unethical practices. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist and has been an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 1991. ... Anita F. Hill (born July 30, 1956) was a colleague of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas prior to Thomas appointment to the Supreme Court. ... Daniel Eli Wattenberg is an American journalist and musician. ... Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (born October 26, 1947), was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001, as the wife of President Bill Clinton. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Official language(s) English Capital Little Rock Largest city Little Rock Area  Ranked 29th  - Total 53,179 sq mi (137,732 km²)  - Width 239 miles (385 km)  - Length 261 miles (420 km)  - % water 2. ... ... Troopergate is the popular name of a scandal involving allegations by two Arkansas state troopers that they arranged sexual liaisons for then-governor Bill Clinton. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

David Brock recanted his accusations upon his departure from the conservative movement. For his part, Wattenberg eventually incurred the displeasure of many fellow conservatives when he belatedly admitted that he had killed a story about rumors of President Clinton fathering a child out of wedlock (with a young African American woman.) Wattenberg actually tracked down a videotape of the woman being interviewed (by an unnamed third party who asked her what Wattenberg described as "softball" questions), but he never was able to interview her himself. Wattenberg's somewhat quaint rationales for killing the story were that he had no proof that the story was true and that the woman's testimony was unconvincing. He said that she "seemed like a junkie." (The story was revived in 1999 by Matt Drudge.) To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Matt Drudge with ever-present fedora Matthew Drudge (born October 27, 1966) is an American Internet journalist and a talk radio host. ...

Internal strife eventually led to the departure of long-time publisher Ronald Burr after a disagreement with Tyrrell led Burr to call for an independent audit of the magazine's finances. The departure of Burr and several prominent conservative figures from the magazine's board of directors resulted in conservative foundations pulling much of the funding the nonprofit had relied on to pay high salaries to Brock and Tyrrell, as well as to fund direct-mail campaigns needed to keep up the monthly's circulation. Faced with a budget crisis, the magazine, then led by publisher Terry Eastland, a former spokesman in the Reagan Justice Department, laid off staffers and cut spending significantly. The magazine also struggled to pay legal bills incurred from an investigation launched against it by President Clinton's Justice Department for alleged witness tampering in the Whitewater investigation. The Justice Department investigation led to revelations about the so-called Arkansas Project, a campaign by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife to discredit the Clintons by funding publishing efforts at several right-wing media outlets. The Arkansas Project is the general name of a series of investigations (mostly funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife) that were designed to damage and end the presidency of Bill Clinton. ... Richard Mellon Scaife (born July 3, 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), a U.S. billionaire and owner–publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. ...

As shortfalls continued, conservative gadfly George Gilder, a long time supporter of the magazine who was newly wealthy from an Internet business, purchased the magazine with the goal of turning it into a profit-making glossy with significant media buzz. Numerous staff members, demoralized by the ever-looming budget crises, were laid off or departed after Gilder's hand-picked but inexperienced editors, Joshua Gilder and Richard Vigilante, took the reins and vowed to reach a new technology- and business-savvy audience. Circulation and budget losses continued and even increased in the Gilder era, and at one point the entire Washington-based staff other than Tyrrell and executive editor and web site editor Wladyslaw Pleszczynski were laid off as operations were moved to Massachusetts, where the rest of George Gilder's businesses were based. In 2003, George Gilder, who had lost most of his fortune with the bursting of the Internet stock bubble, sold the magazine for $1 back to Tyrrell and the American Alternative Foundation, the magazine's original owner (the name was later changed to the American Spectator Foundation). The magazine then moved operations back to the Washington-D.C. area. Later that year, former book publisher Alfred S. Regnery became the magazine's publisher. By 2004, circulation hovered at around 50,000. George Gilder (born 1939, in New York City) is a libertarian, right-wing, American philosopher, futurologist, and author. ... A Dot-com company, or simply a dot-com, was any company that promoted itself as an Internet business during the Dot-com boom. ... Polish-American conservative editor and writer, who is a former executive editor of the American Spectator, and also a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and editor of TheAmericanProwler. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Dot-com (also dotcom or redundantly dot. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The American Spectator official site
• Byron York, "The Life and Death of The American Spectator," Atlantic Monthly (November 2001)
• "Olson by a whisker Salon.com article containing background information on the "Arkansas Project"
• David Brock, "The Real Anita Hill," The American Spectator [1] (March 1992) (unofficial site)
• David Brock, "His Cheatin’ Heart," The American Spectator [2] (January 1994)
• David Brock, Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative (Crown, 2002) ISBN 0-81-293099-1
• R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. (ed.), Orthodoxy: The American Spectator's 20th Anniversary Anthology (Harper & Row, 1987) ISBN 0-06-015818-2