That's Life? I sincerely hope not! (That's Life)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	That's Life
Date:	19/10/08 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's short and recyclable.

Disadvantages: Everything else.

I read one of these magazines on a train in Ireland. Somebody had thoughtfully left it behind.

After reading it from cover to cover in about ten minutes, I was not suprised it had been left behind. This publication caters for the lowest common denominator of readership.

The main story featured a woman telling the tale of how she had stolen another woman's husband and 'forced' him to tell her whilst she was delivering their first child. She was crowing and triumphant. I couldn't believe that the narrator was being given room in a national magazine and paid to tell her miserable story of spite and selfishness.

Another story showed rather graphic murder pictures and told of the 'misery' of an Aunt whose nephew had been murdered by drug dealers because he owed them money. No mention was made of the fact that he was obviously a dealer himself. No, he was definitely a saint! Hmmm, lots of journalistic balance there too!

That's Life magazine, retails at 68p and is issued every Tuesday.

Here is a list of this week's contents. Taken from their website.

~Home~
The Editor comments on the contents of the magazine. This is short and written in simple language.

~Joke of the week~
Around the level of a "Knock knock" joke for challenged under fives.

~Your rude jokes~
I'll leave these bits to your imagination. (pun intended!)

~Cookery~
26 tips on how to vary your Big Mac.

~Send us your story~
We will pay you hundreds to humiliate you publicly or allow you to humiliate someone else publicly.

~Competitions~
There are the really difficult kind. The kind that if you get stuck you can cheat by appealing to your doggy for some intellectual help.

~Is your man daft?~
Cheap shots at men that would have women going doo-lally and screaming "Sexist crap!" if the positions were reversed. (Oooh Matron!)

~Play bingo~
This feature is dedicated to getting readers involved in online gambling.

~Send us your tightwad tips~
Features readers tips to save money. No-one has yet been paid the £20.00 prize for suggesting "Save 68p per week by not buying this magazine".

~Your hot mail~
Readers letters. Often accompanied by a photo of said reader with a copy of 'That's Life' on their holidays in Skegpool.

~Forums~
Invitations to and discussion about the magazines' online chat rooms. So basically a page dedicated to gossip about gossip.

~Love detective~
Is your man cheating? Have you got a 'Lurve Problem'? Do you want to earn That's life money by telling the world? We will pay you to look like an idiot. Particularly if you have unwisely been desperate enough to fall in love with a foreigner who wants a ticket to Britain.

~Free catalogues & holiday brochures~
Information about the advertisers. Of which there are many.

~Spirit & Destiny Website~
Mystic Mog does distance tea-leaf readings. She also doles out questionable advice to vulnerable and gullible readers. (If she hasn't written all the letters herself on the way to work!)

~TVChoice Website~
What's on the box? Paying particular interest to the 'Love Rats' on the Soaps. A big suprise that!

~TVQuick Website~
The same really. The only difference seems to be that it tells you how to get on the telly with your lurid stories.

~*~*~*~
The headlines for this week are........

"He came back from the dead to marry me!"

"Grandad stole our Angel's funeral fund!"

"He was found hanging on Elvis' Birthday."

"Cheated on as I fought for a baby."

"I was poisoned because I wanted to get thin."

They sum up the tenor of the Magazine.

~~~~*~~~~

The tone of the Magazine throughout is chatty and quite patronising.
Readers are continously asked if they have a story to sell. The more sensational the better.
The pictures are lurid if a death or maiming is involved. Banal otherwise.
The whole ethos of the publication seems to be a celebration of others' misfortunes and helplessness.

~~~*~~~

I'm probably making no friends here but I absolutely hate this magazine and all the mediocrity, salaciousness, manipulation and low standards it stands for. I felt dirty after reading it.

If that makes me a snob then I hold my hands up.

If I were a jounalist for this publication I would probably tell people I was a convicted sex offender, rather than face the embarrassment of telling people what my real job was.

As there is no option on here to award no stars I have to give it one. That is for getting the page numbers in the right order.

Summary: A celebration of everything that is cringeworthy in our society.