''Bravo'' is the largest

teen magazine Teen magazines are magazines aimed at teenage readers. They usually consist of gossip, news, fashion tips and interviews and may include posters, stickers, small samples of cosmetics or other products and inserts. The teen magazine industry ...

within the German-language sphere. The first issue was published in 1956.

History

The founder of ''Bravo'' was

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

Peter Boenisch Peter Boenisch (4 May 1927 in Berlin – 8 July 2005 in Gmund am Tegernsee) was a German columnist and journalist. Life Boenisch worked as journalist for German newspaper ''Bild'', where he became in 1961 editor-in-chief. He was the found ...

. The first issue was published on 26 August 1956 with thirty thousand copies printed, cost 50

Pfennig The 'pfennig' (; . 'pfennigs' or ; symbol pf or ₰) or penny is a former German coin or note, which was the official currency from the 9th century until the introduction of the euro in 2002. While a valuable coin during the Middle Ages, ...

(equivalent to € in ).

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

's portrait graced the first published issue; the never-published dummy issue cover displayed

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. The publication was initially subtitled as "the magazine for film and television" (). Issue number 13/57 was released on 31 March 1957 with the new subtitle "the magazine with the young heart" () as well as "film, television, pop music" () which disappeared soon afterwards. Starting from issue 34/57 (13 August 1957) the magazine no longer had any subtitles underscoring its newfound focus. In 1968 ''Bravo'' began to be published weekly by Pabel Moewig, a subsidiary of Bauer Verlagsgruppe in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

; the editorial office however remained in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

. In the 1970s the magazine sold more than one million copies. By 1996 each issue still sold around 1.4 million issues. ''Bravo'' had a circulation of 825,800 copies in 1999. Afterwards the circulation fell steeply. In 2006 the magazine sold around 460,379 copies. In 2010 the circulation of the magazine was 512,358 copies, making it the best-selling teenager magazine in Europe. In February 2017, ''Bravo'' stopped publishing in Spain with issue 552. However, editions are still published in some other countries. American pop singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

, who was a teen phenomenon in the late 1990s and early 2000s, holds the record for most appearances on the cover (56).

Focus group and classic columns

''Bravo'' covers topics which primarily interest youths, among which are current information on

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and movie stars, as well as relationship and sex counseling. Under the pseudonyms "Dr. Christoph Vollmer" and "Dr. Kirsten Lindstroem" the then-47-year-old author of romance novels Marie Louise Fischer gave advice on relationships (''Knigge für Verliebte'', ''Liebe ohne Geheimnis'') from 1964 to 1969. Martin Goldstein started to contribute to the magazine on 20 October 1969. A practising doctor, psychotherapist, and religion teacher, he took over and replied to readers' questions under the pseudonym "Dr. Jochen Sommer". Goldstein had made a name for himself in

sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

with the publications ''Anders als bei Schmetterlingen'' and ''Lexikon der Aufklärung''. Later, he answered questions about sex as "Dr. Korff", while "Dr. Sommer" concentrated on psychological questions. From the early 1970s on, a whole group replied to questions. The editors put value in the fact that the "Dr.-Sommer-Team" continued to be made up of experts. At its peak ''Bravo'' received around 3000 to 5000 letters on puberty and sexuality per week. In 2006, 400 letters were still received. ''Bravo'' made noticeably strong use of

Anglicism An anglicism is a word or construction borrowed from English by another language. With the rise in English-speaking world, Anglophone media and the global spread of British and US cultures in the 20th and 21st centuries, many English terms hav ...

and " Denglisch" starting in the 1980s, long before this became a mainstream phenomenon. ''Bravo'' was – primarily in the 1970s and 1980s – formative for generations of German youths and teenagers, which resulted in the paper's nickname of (

pimple A pimple is a kind of comedo that results from excess sebum and dead skin cells getting trapped in the pores of the skin. In its aggravated state, it may evolve into a pustule or papules. Pimples can be treated by acne medications, antibioti ...

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

). The magazine was sometimes confiscated in schools by teachers. Many of today's adults received all of their sexual education from the articles by the Dr. Sommer team. Within the former GDR (East Germany) the magazine was forbidden, but still very popular and traded for high prices. ''Bravo'' played an influential part in promoting pop groups and artists in Germany. In addition to the idea of the Dr.-Sommer-team, ''Bravo'' invented the so-called ''Bravo-Starschnitt'' (''star cut''), a

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzl ...

of a life-sized poster of a celebrity. Every new issue provided one cutout piece. The first Starschnitt-feature began in 1959 and was a poster of

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...

Controversies

Sexual content

In 1972, two issues with articles on

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinat ...

were 'indexed' (prohibited for sale to under-age customers) by the

Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (german: link=no, Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien or ''BPjM'') is an upper-level German federal censorship agency subordinate to the Federal Ministry of Family Affai ...

, because they were deemed youth-endangering.

Former depictions of teenage nudity

The magazine was controversial internationally for its section ''Dr. Sommer's That's Me!'', which often featured sex interviews and full frontal nude photos of teen models aged between 14 and 20, which was later changed to 16 to 20 in the early 2000s. While this was legal in Germany, it caused problems with international child pornography laws. The magazine often worked around the laws by having the models hold the camera's shutter button themselves, thereby showing explicit consent. One former model told interviewers that he did not know his nude image was going to be sold by the photographer to ''Bravo'' for publication in ''That's Me!'' From the early 2010s onwards, the magazine would rename the feature to ''Dr. Sommer's Bodycheck'' and feature those only aged between 18 and 25.

Present

Originally there was only a single ''Bravo'' magazine, today different variants are published. This is a result of higher individualisation and changing interests. The following brands are part of the "Bravo Family": * ''Bravo.de'' (Internet portal for teenagers independent of the magazine) * ''Bravo Girl'' (targeting girls) * ''Bravo Screenfun'' (for video games and

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

s) * ''Bravo Sport'' (sport magazine) * ''Bravo Sport TV'' (sport TV show) * '' Bravo TV'' (youth television magazine) * ''Bravo Hits'' (regularly published music

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

) * ''Bravo Hip Hop Special'' (published six times a year, focusing on hip hop, rap, and R&B) Teenage magazines like ''Bravo'' are of high importance for the music industry as an advertising medium. Ads can be found in all ''Bravo'' formats. A TV version of ''Bravo'' called ''Bravo TV'' started airing on 16 May 1993, first on RTL 2 and later on ZDF. The first presenter was Kristiane Backer, followed by Heike Makatsch. After a long hiatus Bravo TV returned on 5 November 2005 on

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

. The magazine distributes its "

Bravo Otto The Bravo Otto is a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music. Established in 1957, the award is presented annually, with winners selected by the readers of ''Bravo'' magazine. The award is presented in ...

" (a small

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

-styled figure) award in different categories. The design of the figure is inspired by Winnetou, played by

Pierre Brice Pierre-Louis Le Bris (6 February 1929 – 6 June 2015), known as Pierre Brice, was a French actor, best known as portraying fictional Apache-chief Winnetou in German films based on Karl May novels. Life and films Brice was born in Brest, Bri ...

, who had a longstanding connection within his cinematic role to Bravo. Among the prized artists were pop super stars

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

Inge Meysel Inge Meysel (; 30 May 1910 – 10 July 2004) was a German actress. From the early 1960s until her death, Meysel was one of Germany's most popular actresses. She had a successful stage career and played more than 100 roles in film and on televisio ...

(Winnetou), Joachim Fuchsberger,

Stefan Raab Stefan Konrad Raab (born 20 October 1966) is a German television producer, businessman, musician, and former entertainer and television host. From 1999 to 2015, he hosted the late-night comedy talk show ''TV total'' and has also created a numbe ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

David Hasselhoff David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on '' The Yo ...

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the w ...

Boris Becker Boris Franz Becker (, ; born 22 November 1967) is a German former world No. 1 tennis player. Becker was successful from the start of his career, winning the Wimbledon Championships at the age of 17. He ultimately won six Grand Slam singles tit ...

Bro'Sis Bro'Sis was a multicultural R&B/pop group from Germany, which was formed through the TV series '' Popstars – Du bist mein Traum'' in 2001. The group comprised the singers Ross Antony, Hila Bronstein, Shaham Joyce, Faiz Mangat, Indira Weis, ...

, Heike Makatsch, Horst Janson and many more. Furthermore, each week the readers vote in the Bravo charts, which sometimes oppose the sales charts and are an indicator of artists popularity in the past and today. In 2006, ''Bravo'' released an anthology providing an overview of Bravo's perception of the world within the past 50 years.

References

External links