Welcome to The Commentator!

Who's running The Commentator?

The website was conceived by the journalist and author Robin Shepherd in 2010. Since then Raheem Kassam and Dane Vallejo have worked with Robin to develop, maintain and edit for the site. Recently, we announced Harry Cole as our UK Political Editor.

You can contact any of us using [firstname]@thecommentator.com as an e-mail address. We look forward to hearing from you but do apologise if we don't find the time to respond to every e-mail.

What is the audience you are aiming at?

We aim to provide a service of interest to anyone anywhere in the English speaking world. Clearly, the two most obvious target markets are Britain and the United States. But we will be keeping a very keen eye on Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India and a host of others. The key issues we write about should be of as much interest to a reader in Sydney, Australia, as in Manchester, Great Britain, or Seattle, the United States. The English language is global, and so are we.

What are you offering? 

Three core services:

1) Select news of the type that is often missed or downplayed by other media outlets;

2) Original commentary, primarily offering fresh perspectives on issues of civilisational importance;

3) An aggregator service where we list the best and most interesting articles, commentaries and blogs available on the web and which fit the broad themes we wish to promote.

How does the site work on a day to day basis?

At the top of the front page you will see the Featured section - this is populated with commentary and news stories. There are five latest pieces which automatically scan, unless you hover over one - then the slider will stop and you can click through to the article!

Most commentary will be bylined to an individual writer, but the Commentator will also do its own editorial pieces where we will draw on the expertise of our team across Europe and the United States.

Below and to the left of the Featured section is the aggregator -- Must Read: Best of the rest in news and comment. The purpose and functionality is largely self-explanatory. If a recommended article is behind a paywall, you'll see a (£) after the title. We simply don't want to waste your time. If we're recommending that you read something we want you to be able to get straight to where you are aiming to go without let or hindrance.

The other functions on the website are self-explanatory.

What about interacting with the readers?

We're all for it. Please feel free to leave comments at the bottom of the articles, to contact us by email and, for those who are particularly interested in staying in touch and forming a closer relationship, to sign up to our newsletter (which is on its way!). We want you to feel free to say what you want, but we will not allow personal attacks or vulgar language. Play the arguments not the people making them. Note that we pre-moderate unregistered Disqus comments, which means they have to be approved by an editor before going up. We may use your e-mail address provided to contact you - let us know if you'd rather we didn't. The Commentator reserves the right to use your e-mail address for internal marketing purposes. We won't sell your data.

Can others use your articles?

Depends what you mean. Obviously, traditional media and bloggers are free to link to our content by displaying a headline with a hyperlink (and, if they wish, the first paragraph of the article in question). Reproducing our articles in full without our permission, on the other hand, is a breach of copyright law. If you want to reproduce any of our material in full (either in print or online), you need to ask us first. If you can make a convincing case and/or offer appropriate quid pro quos, we are more likely to look favourably on your request. People who write for us will normally be allowed to cross-post on their own personal website.