Chat Womens Magazine > Reviews (22)

I tend to pick up Chat magazine on a fortnightly/monthly basis rather than weekly but that is no reflection on the magazine itself, more so on my available time. It is published every Thursday.

The 78p (Euro 2.50, Canada- $4.00) magazine covers a multitude of topics but I personally buy it for the real life stories and the puzzles.

IPC Chats owner describes the magazine as:

“IPC Connect’s best selling woman’s weekly magazine. It is irreverent, gritty and funny with an irresistible mix of real life stories; brain teasing puzzles with prizes, and a fascination with the psychic and spooky! The brilliance of its cover lines and the emotional rollercoaster created by its extraordinary true stories about ordinary people make it a unique thrill to be enjoyed every week. As the older sister to Pick Me Up, it set the high standards for this dream real life read Chat Ordinary people. Extraordinary stories. Every Thursday.”

The Front Cover

The cover usually has a female model on the front – not usually a celebrity or anybody famous. Round the edges are eye catching titles of the stories inside the covers.

Last weeks for example advertised “Disgusting Sick Acts Of My Scary Mum,” “Family Snap Revealed My Tot Had Cancer” and “Yuk! My Wayne Eats Worms”.

Inside

Inside the front cover are the contact details for Chat HQ – here you will find the postal address/ email address and telephone number, useful if you are intending on submitting your very own true stories. There is also a note from the editor Gilly, each week she gives a brief update of her life in approximately 120 words. The contents are beneath Gilly’s note.

I wont go into detail of all the features but the main headings are:

· More True Stories (paying £200 for each published story)

· Hey Good Looking – Which covers Beauty & Fashion

· Feeling Fantastic – Health / Problem pages & Ask the doc

· Psychic Stuff

· Weekly Faves – these include readers letters / Food /

Travel / TV reviews

· Be In It To Win It – all the weekly competitions which all

pay cash.

I counted 16 true feature stories in last week’s magazine – this is fairly standard. I like the stories and reading about real people but I have to advise that they are edited by the Chat Team – and whilst they read as though they come straight from the readers mouth, it is obvious that bits are added in for effect or it is written to make it more exciting, though I suppose this is the same with all these types of features.

There are approximately 18 puzzles per week dotted throughout the magazine, with a coupon at the back of the magazine for you to fill in the answers and send off – prizes range from £50 to £1001. Can honestly say I have never won a penny but what’s the harm in trying.

The second aspect I like about Chat magazine is that it isn’t dominated by irrelevant adverts. I cannot stand buying a magazine and finding more adverts than readable content – it frustrates me.

Chat though whilst featuring some adverts throughout does not put them on every other page, but does sometimes incorporate them into a feature, which is very clever but not too off putting.

Also those, which are featured, are the sort of items which may appeal to the audience Chat reaches out to.

I would suggest that is an audience of bored older teenagers, mothers crazing a break from the kids, and elderly women. I do not wish to sound stereotypical because when reading it is clear that men also read Chat and participate in the reader’s views. However I would say that is predominately a magazine aimed at the female audience.

Adverts in last weeks issue include JJB’ Back to School Kit, Alldays Panty Liners, Dove Moisturiser, Amazon.co.uk and a McDonalds advert which reads “I feel like a bad parent if I let my child eat McDonalds – I don’t feel so bad anymore”.

The fashion/food/travel sections are fairly brief but include enough detail. Last month the “looking good” section was on pages 16-17 and focused on dotty fashion – dresses, tops and bikinis, which were dotty and affordable. You will always find brands like Primark, New Look, Peacocks, George @ Asda and TKMax featured on these pages, unlike most magazine which feature Chanel & Chloe – which realistically your average working women is unlikely to afford ever let alone on a regular basis.

The Food page “Grubs Up” features 3 or 4 mini articles including a recipe and a test of 4 products to see which of the same thing from different places is the best – last week it was Vegetable Pasta Sauce and Asda tomato & chunky got 9/10 and rated as “chats choice”.

I find the spooky stories section very interesting and Chat has a spin off magazine called Chat it’s Fate – a whole magazine of paranormal and real life psychic stories as well as personal psychic advice. I have never bought this spin off magazine as it is pricey in comparison and I am not a fan of “Ruth the Truth” a feature in Chat where Ruth answers people’s questions, contacts people/animals from the dead and identifies objects people have lost.

I think this a personal thing. Whilst I believe in ghosts and spirits etc – this page just doesn’t seem to ring true in my opinion.

Sleuths Truths seems to be a relatively new feature as I do not remember reading it a few months ago, Private Dick is a private investigator and gives the readers advice on their problems – for example how to sneakily spy on your husband to see whether he really is having an affair. A little far fetched and enough to make any reader slightly paranoid but all the same a fun feature, which is well worth a read.

Overall I love chat magazine – and I mainly buy it for the real life stories and the puzzles. I’m even sad enough to admit I have posted off the coupon on more than one occasion.

I would suggest that if you have an hour or so to put your feet up or want a cheap magazine that you can put down and come back to later then chat is the one you should buy.

The final thing I will say is that it DOES NOT CONTAIN information about trashy so-called celebrities from cover to cover – something I tend to avoid.