In the past several years, a number of LGBT publications have closed their doors completely. Others have opened windows into the world of online news. And still others, like PGN, have married the two concepts into a hybrid news format that is looking to satisfy generations of gay readers.
When PGN started in 1976, the local LGBT community was largely getting its news from sources like newsletters and journals published by activist groups, while throughout the country, a handful of gay newspapers had began to surface, like The Advocate, the Washington Blade and Bay Area Reporter.
“In the early days, the gay press was really a source of information for many people who weren’t comfortable being out,” said Chuck Colbert, contributor to LGBT trade publication Press Pass Q. “Any word and any piece of information you could get was welcomed.”
Colbert said the early newspapers were often led by gay activists, so many of the publications had a distinct advocacy thrust.
The 1980s saw a rise in the number of gay publications being churned out, with the launch of such newspapers as New England’s Bay Windows, the Dallas Voice, Chicago’s Windy City Times and Southern Voice.
The more expansive the industry became, the more skilled the publications became at upholding the elemental tenets of the field, Colbert said.
“I think over time, gay media really emerged as professional news outlets that were vital to communities in major metropolitan areas,” he said. “Today, you still have some of the longest-standing foremost gay publications still operating, and it’s because they became increasingly professional in terms of the basics of journalism, with fact-checking, reporting as objectively as possible, getting angles from different perspectives.”
As LGBT media outlets gained credibility, Colbert said mainstream journalists began to look to those in the gay media field as experts, seeking information and often advice on coverage of LGBT issues.
“With the kinds of reporting that came out of these publications, there was a huge shift in how respected we became by other media outlets,” Colbert said.
That trend also surfaced with advertisers, as LGBT-focused publications across the country began to compete for the business of non-gay companies who increasingly recognized the value of the LGBT market.
The Internet Age, however, has turned the journalism industry on its head, with mainstream and niche publications striving to adapt to the new ways in which the public gets its news.
In 2007, the Houston Voice transitioned to an all-online newspaper, just two years before it and a number of other publications, such as Southern Voice, South Florida Blade and Washington Blade, were abruptly shut down by joint publisher Window/Unite Media, LLC, which filed for bankruptcy.
Washington Blade was resurrected by a group of employees within a week and the following year retained the rights to its former moniker, while Southern Voice relaunched in the spring of 2010.
PGN launched its website in 1996, and the site has undergone a host of facelifts since.
The emergence of LGBT-focused blogs contributed further to the complexity of the changing industry, Colbert said.
“I think that’s the big challenge now, how will publications in big cities compete with bloggers and the whole revolution in the way we get media now,” Colbert said. “You’ve got bloggers like Towelroad, Bilerico and Pam [Pam’s House Blend], to name a few, that are doing a lot of the same things gay media has been doing. But I still think there’s a role for niche publications like PGN because there are accepted standards of journalism that I think will always be of value. The bloggers are helpful in many ways, but I think there’s something different about a measured, thoughtful media presence in our community, especially in states where equality is barely inching forward.”
To contend with the continuously evolving industry, Colbert noted that some publications, like PGN, have redoubled their efforts to provide hyperlocal coverage, underscoring the necessity and relevance of a community publication.
“It’s that concentrated focus on Philadelphia and the local angle that no one really offers as much in depth,” he said.
While the gay-press industries of 2011 and 1976 are two wholly different entities, Colbert said he doesn’t see the significance of an ink-on-paper representation of the gay community ever completely subsiding.
“It’d be really sad if we didn’t have that, because these papers are visible, tangible signs of a gay community and that’s really important. Not everybody is using apps and laptops for their information. There’s just something about going into a coffee shop and having that physical paper in front of you.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].
