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"Heat" and tabloid media
A review by George

Every Tuesday, Heat Magazine is released nationwide, clearly written and managed by the most intelligent and coherent people in the country. A Stalin of Magazines, Heat is clearly a dictator to its audience – it informs of them of what and who they should like and dislike, and it treats opinion as fact throughout its 150 pages. When searched via Wikipedia, we learn this about it:

Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by EMAP Consumer Media, and edited by Natalie Robinson. As of 2004 it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in other women's magazines. It also features movie and music reviews, TV listings and major celebrity interviews.

Magazines such as Heat highlight the fact that in society in the 2000’s, there is no such thing as “celebrity news”. Celebrity News is a way of mainstream control over the vulnurable public – celebrity news is general events that are twisted and manufactured in order to create an effect, and in turn, consumption from the public, and in Heat’s case, its predominantly female audience.

In order to provoke a reaction from said audience, Heat misconstrues stories in a way that will create a feeling that is most beneficial from the female half of society. This involves subtly adapting the philosophy that their readers should not like women, and the good people in the world are the young, attractive men – due to women naturally finding it easier to dislike women through a combination of subconcious jealousy towards the attractive, successful women and a comparison to themselves towards the likes of the glamour models and women generally regarded as “z-list celebs”.

The only time it becomes acceptable to like a woman is when a man in their live is cruel or does something to mistreat them this – at this point, the man becomes the villain of the storyline set up by the magazine. Woman are now subliminally told that it’s acceptable to like this woman – she is accepted, as she has now become detached from the others.

Money is generated when a successful story is put together, through interest leading to consumption, and a successful story has somebody for the people reading to hate. Most stories are built and adapted through hate – natural hate towards the women in the public eye. Once the man has become the villain, the woman can become liked and the story can remain successful due to the man now being the villain. It is far easier for a cheating man to become unpopular, as the figure of this ‘cheating man’ is one that can easily be slotted into the lives of the average female reader; they can understand him, and hate him without him even exsisting to them.

Therefore, the key to being successful in tabloid media is to be a young, attractive male, and not to upset a woman. In order to test this theory, I took a copy of Heat Magazine and examined it, with the findings below.

Page 6 – A picture with a caption claiming that Kerry Katona refused to do an interveiw until she was given chips.

Page 16 – The reporters critize dresses worn by women to an award ceremony.

Pages 18 – 21 – Chantelle – who previously has been slagged off by the magazine for being a woman – gives an interveiwing talking about her “sham of a marriage” to The Ordinary Boys singer Preston. As you can see, Chantelle is now the victim in everything, despite being hated just weeks before – she no longer needs to be hated, because Preston is now here to do it for her.

Page 22 – Readers write in. Some slag of Kerry Katona again, others discuss how attractive the lead singer of 30 Seconds From Mars is.

Page 28 – Cheryl Cole, who like Chantelle had been blasted by the magazine for being argumentitive with other women – is now handed sympathy due to her cheating husband.

Pages 31 – 35 Amy Winehouse is a bad person for going to a pub, J-Lo’s nose is huge because of pregnancy, and Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace is an evil person because she’s started a fashion line. She apparently is the worst dressed woman ever because Heat have found an astonishing four photos taken a long time ago of her wearing less than flattering clothing. On page 35, it is discussed how Hollyoaks actor Chris Fountain did a photoshoot where he stripped to his underwear. He is given nothing but praise – but women who strip down their underwear are morally wrong and reincarnations of Hitler.

Pages 44 – 56 Pages of pictures and awful things women have been getting up to. One man is critized – but he’s short, old, and Sylvester Stalone, so it doesn’t matter. One of the women has veiny arms, another has a weird face, and one drew on their arm with biro, and yet these incidents are all treated with a tone of disgust.

Page 59 – Sienna Miller is snapped with her boyfriend hugging her, and she has not fully responded into an embrace. Heat suspects she is being frosty because she is annoyed she didn’t win an award, and yet these is no evidence to suggest this. From the pictures, she doesn’t look frosty at all.

Pages 62 – 65 The circle of shame attacks women who are normal and don’t have everything perfect about their bodies, making readers insecure about their appearance and again, leading them to consume the products that will stop them from looking like these celebrities who Heat are making feel stupid and ashamed.

From then on, the magazine discusses clothes and films. It is over for the celebrities who had endured the bitter toungue of Heat Magazine.

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It's unfinished, but the tabloid manipulation in society is something I've been feeling quite strongly about as of late. Tell me what you think about my 'essay' and the issue itself. (: