Heat is a
British entertainment magazine published by
Bauer Consumer Media. 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.
History
Heat was launched in February 1999 as a general interest entertainment magazine, at a cost of more than £4m. However, unlike other Bauer launches before and after, it was not an immediate success, with a circulation below 100,000. A series of revamps quickly repositioned the magazine as a less serious, more gossip-oriented magazine aimed at women, and circulation quickly grew. A series of high-profile celebrity relationships, such as between
David and
Victoria Beckham, and
Jennifer Aniston and
Brad Pitt provided ample material, while reality shows such as
Big Brother and
Pop Idol grew popular at just the right time to help fill pages. Heat achieved record sale figures when
Jade Goody had a make-over and was first on the front cover after her stint in
UK Big Brother 3 (2002) and later when
Nikki Grahame and
Pete Bennett from
UK Big Brother 7 split and Nikki spoke exclusively to Heat (2006).
Editors
A version of the magazine is also published in
South Africa.
Heatworld.com
Heatworld logo
Heatworld.com launched on 22 May 2007 and was edited by Julian Linley who had been deputy editor of Heat magazine for five years. The site is an online interpretation of the magazine emulating the mix of
celebrity news, gossip and fashion. However, heatworld.com does not replicate magazine content and bases itself more on
video and
audio content and breaking news. The site is
advertising funded.
Heat Radio
On 25 September 2007,
Heat Radio launched. The station is owned by Bauer Radio, a division of the company, Bauer which owns the magazine. The station can be listened to through Freeview on channel number 714 and through DAB radio. It can also be listened to through a live steam on the website.. Shows are presented by
Lucie Cave, Bronagh Meere, Paul Coyte, Andy Wood and Rachael Hopper. Celebrities often present shows on a one week contract. On 26 September 2007, just one day after launching, the station received criticism when during the 11 O'Clock News Bulletin, Sophie Davidson swore repeatedly for accidentally playing music during the bulletin, she has since been sacked by the station. They released an apology the same day.
Schedule
6-9 : Debbie Mac - Heat breakfast
9-12 : Paul Coyte - Out of the Blue
12-2 :
Lucie Cave - Heat's Lite Lunch
2 - 5.30 : Rachael Hopper - Diet Coke break
5.30 - 8 : Andy Wood - You Control the Heat
8-10 :
Andi Peters - Hot or Not
10-12 : Heat Chilled
1 - 6 : Afterhours with Matt Wilkins
Heat merchandise
As
Heat magazine grew in popularity, spin off merchandise was released to cash in on its success. Current items carrying the
Heat name are an exercise DVD titled
Heat: Get That Celeb Look which was released in 2003, an
interactive DVD game featuring celebrity questions, an
annual for the year 2007 and in 2003 a set of mini books titled
Say What were released containing quotes from celebrities such as
Gareth Gates.
Controversy
In an issue which was released on 27 November 2007,
Heat used an image of
Katie Price's disabled son, who suffers from
septo-optic dysplasia, a rare condition which means he is visually impaired and suffers from hormonal deficiencies, causing him to easily gain weight and means he is partially blind, on a sticker which was included with the magazine, with the slogan "Harvey wants to eat me!" The magazine's editor
Mark Frith made an apology for the offence caused by the sticker, and an apology was also posted on the magazine's website. A spokesperson for the
Press Complaints Commission confirmed that Katie Price was planning to make a complaint about the matter. The magazine was also criticised in the press over the incident, with one editorial describing it as "the lowest point in British journalism".
See also
