Magazine Morons

[ChatOff]

AIBU to ask who these covers actually appeal to? I'm talking about the likes of Chat Magazine where there is always some inane looking woman with her mouth gaping open in the most alarming and unnatural fashion. Usually the photograph is accompanied by some horrific headline.

In terms of marketing they must work because these toilet paper alternatives are still selling but what is the thinking behind these photographs?

I'm trying to imagine the directions from the photographer..."Face forward. That's great now smile. No that doesn't work. I know, try smiling like there are fishhooks in both cheeks then open your mouth as wide as the Joker following a full lobotomy".

I remember seeing a documentary eons ago about these kinds of magazines, the journalist went around interviewing quite vulnerable women (cannot remember how she found them) I think one was a young, pregnant widow and one a young stroke patient. Something like that anyway.

The only other bit I remember is the women going to the newsagents to see themselves in the magazine and feeling a bit misled and exploited at how they'd been portrayed. I'd never read these magazines but have always viewed them with a side eye ever since.

I worked in the competitions department. It was about 20 years ago, I heard about a vacancy through a friend when I’d just lost a job when another (much nicer!) magazine had closed. There wasn’t much snootiness about the readership but plenty of hard nosed marketing based on decent demographic data.

My favorite is LOVE IT. Never actually opened a copy, but I'm in a Facebook group that posts the covers of these mags and it's always the best one.

"LOVE IT!" (must be caps) has become a standard response in our group chat whenever something bad happens to one of us 😅

Joking aside though, they're rotten publications. They prey on vulnerable people, chuck them a few quid to sign their story away and rewrite it (often in the first person) with little to no input from the subject. That version of the story often gets syndicated or re-reported online and can blow up on social media. Not nice.

I can well imagine why! Sorry it was so hard.

The content was all so fucking grim, it was relentless. The people were dehumanised so you’d get a good spread of dead wives, sisters, kids, ghostly appearances, fat people, illness, affairs etc.

The pay was atrocious, always an issue in magazines, the commute and hours were brutal and I was getting something off the printer when I saw a letter saying something like “Dear Mrs X, we’re sorry to hear your daughter was brutally raped and murdered by her boyfriend, talk to us and we’ll give you £200, looking forward to hearing from you”.

It’s never the full whack, they’ll always find a way to reduce the payment, and the suffering content providers are just a function of the business. I got home that night and just couldn’t face going back.

I used to buy these magazines when I was a student and was bored and wanted a crossword plus some weird juicy gossip or bizarre stories to read as an escape and to give my brain a rest from my studies😂like watching reality tv, total trash when you just need to not think about anything. Can also add I havent bought one for 20 years.

That makes total sense, given my understanding of the content. Thanks for elaborating.

In terms of marketing they must work because these toilet paper alternatives are still selling but what is the thinking behind these photographs?

Yabu for suggesting they could be used for toilet paper. Surely they are too shiny to be of much use?

My DM used to read these, women and women’s weekly. I loved the hot tips. How to avoid burning cheeks, don’t put your head in the oven.

Where I used to work they also published Sneak and one of the most popular editions was titled “He smelled of wee but I loved him, the tramp who stole my heart”.

@CeciliaDuckiePond

I don't think it's that. I prefer paper magazines and I'm "only" in my 50s. It's because you can flick around them or read them not in order - for example, I always read 'Private Eye' starting from the back with the small adds, then flick back to Books and Bookmen, then Silvie Krin (if there is one), the letters and Street of Shame, then I work forwards at my leisure reading the bits in between I have missed, all over the course of a few days. You can leave it folded to where you are, no messing around scrolling and bookmarking, no squinting at a tiny phone or having a heavy laptop in front of you, you can hold a magazine in one hand while you are having lunch.

Yeah I completely relate to this (and I love Private Eye too), I guess I just think you can get everything you would get from Chat from Mumsnet but with a much broader range of topics and a lot more interactivity…

But maybe I am misreading the demographic.

Sorry how many millions of publications have you sold over the past six decades OP?

I wouldn't be too sniffy about people entering competitions!! I'm a professional person who loves entering competitions .This year alone I've won two holidays including a European cruise and tickets to three festivals including Glastonbury!!
Just saying!!! And it never involved buying one of those magazines !!

The interrogation early on here are hilarious! I agree these mags are a bit like Jeremy Kyle, the me now photos and things. They are free on my kindle app and I do look at the home and clothes sometimes because its all cheap things and some really nice bits and bobs.

I suspect you’re rather downplaying how much you love entering competitions 😆

Horrible rags.
Hope they die out.

My brother's wife buys these sometimes, she's a consultant psychiatrist. She also watches some total bollocks on the TV. However her job is quite intensive and stressful and I think she just likes something that requires zero thought to switch off to. My husband is also the same while my job is less taxing and so I have a bit more mental energy left to watch a subtitled film or read something literary.

Well, she should find some fluff that doesn’t involve the exploitation and monetisation of the vulnerable.

Do you have kids @HotBathwater out of interest?

OMG who cares?! The point that they are shit still stands!

I'm also intrigued- by your line of questioning @Aquickturn are you the thread police?🤣

You'll have to talk to her about that yourself, I've never read them.

I used to love them.
Now I get my fix of bonkers strangers and ridiculous stories from the Internet instead. 😁

The tips..have you old CDs look what I've made with them..yes shite made from old CD's.
Many are worthy of a place in Vizs top tips section.

I remember Dave Gorman mentioned those type of magazines in one of his shows. He mentioned the woman on the front is always smiling even though terrible statements are always next to the smiling woman.

@MNHQ

I’m posting back on here about 12 hours after I first reported this thread for being ableist. I am not surprised to report that MNHQ has not dealt with this issue. Being ableist is the last bastion of the prejudiced on MN. The word ‘moron’ is offensive, especially to those in the learning disabled community. I imagine that most here would be shocked by the use of the ‘n’ word in terms of race stories. Please, the use ‘moron’ is offensive and is an ableist slur. If you know enough to not use the ‘n’ word, then please show respect for those in the learning disabled community and don’t use the ‘n’ word.