It's basically what the press looks like when they are doing their job. They are privately owned and on a mission to tell the truth, not to make as much money as possible.

Hislop and before him Cook are actual real people trying to do something good instead of just attempting to get rich for the sake of it before dropping dead.

There are lots of in jokes and also "code phrases", such as "tired and emotional" == drunk, more here [1].

I used to subscribe to it but cancelled it after I left the UK.

The UK press are an absolute disaster. Most are partisan, including:

Telegraph: torygraph Daily mail: torygraph FT: bankers times Guardian: with you until you need actual help then it's back to mi5 Sun/Times: Murdoch incorporated

Private eye is literally carry everything on their shoulders. There is nothing else.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurring_themes_and_in-jokes_...