They have more of the feel not of ideas that necessarily belong together but which, rather, have been corralled, are held in place and will be driven forward by Tim’s particular vision and imagination. After all, very few people argue the tech industry must own our futures, say, or that western capitalism mustn’t work for the many. The first is whether those five themes really are unheard, or held by those who don’t follow a herd. ConservativeHome wishes the project well and is on much the same page, ideas-wise if not literally. There are writers from both Left and Right aboard UnHerd‘s very modern middle way. The whole enterprise is bold and big-hearted and very Tim-ish, and has apparently left party politics behind, like a rocket jettisoning its hardware as it blasts further into space. This is captured in a vividly-crafted article by Ruth Davidson. What undoubtedly does punch its way through, and should especially interest conservatives with a big and small c, is Tim’s preoccupation that capitalism in the west isn’t working, is prone to capture by cronyism, special interests and lobbyists, and urgently needs Christian Democrat-flavoured reform. If the reader feels that it is difficult to negotiate his way through the different sections, and is unclear which parts are core to UnHerd’s mission, that may be no more than the usual unfamiliarity with the new. The cow has not exactly gone off at half-cock, ho ho, but bits of the site aren’t yet complete: the media library has a provisional feel. There is a provisional feel to much of the site, which the Editor freely concedes in something called Beta. Literalists who claim that cows are found in herds, or who find the whole idea, well, a bit cheesy, are probably missing the point – which is that the device is non-abstract, attention-grabbing…and no more grating than the headline on this article. The whole enterprise is held together by the visual gag of a cow that is not part of a herd, which comes on top of the punning of herd and unheard. Its costs are apparently being covered by Paul Marshall, once a Liberal Democrat donor, more recently a Brexit backer.Ī button at the top leads one to those “deep dives”, the five themes, and “quick links” – principally, “The Feed”, which is recent articles Columnists and Guests a Deep End-type column from Peter Franklin, whose presence alone would make it worth clicking on the site, and Briefings, which give the reader a quick guide to a subject. Both require time and money to look and sound professional, which they do, which makes this a nice moment to mention UnHerd‘s financing. This order will probably chop and change, but the thinking behind it is clearly to alternate longer items with shorter ones, and showcase the editor’s intention of projecting video and audio. It is better organised and thought through: main features at the top, audio and video below, then a “deep dive” into a special subject, then some smaller articles and columns.
The site is laid out in those shock-and-awe, screen-filling blocks of copy that Tim used for his Good Right project. When there’s big news about the five topics that we are focused upon, we’ll cover that but, unlike nearly every media organisation, we don’t even have a television in our office”. The online magazine has five themes: “flyover country deserves a new deal” “religion is relevant (even if you don’t believe)” “the end is not nigh” “the tech industry musn’t own our futures” “western capitalism must work for the many”. As Tim puts it: “We aim to appeal to people who instinctively refuse to follow the herd and also want to investigate ‘unheard’ ideas, individuals and communities”. There are twin main points to UnHerd, which launched last week. The Conservative Christian Fellowship, Renewing One Nation, ConservativeHome – all made an impact and two are still going. Nearly everything he has set up has worked. Where does UnHerd, Tim Montgomerie’s new current affairs venture, fit in? The success rate of our former editor is formidable. Prospect had some marvellous writing during the general election. In this frenetic environment, it is hard to push one’s way, if only for a moment, to the front of the queue. There are newer kids on the block: Buzzfeed, Total Politics. The New Statesman has some first-rate rate writers: Stephen Bush, George Eaton.
The Spectator markets itself as a right-of-centre party, where you can clink champagne flutes with Rod Liddle and Mary Wakefield and Charles Moore. A journal must have a USP – if it is to cut through, at any rate.