Many of you may be wondering what has been going on with The Advocate, a publication that has been described in the news as a sinking ship, as well as OUT, both owned by Here Media. Stephen Macias, GM of Regent/Here Media separated the truth from the fiction in a discussion with Michelangelo Signorile.
Here Media CEO Paul Colichman reflected on his year at the helm of The Advocate in an open letter to readers:
Dear Valued Readers,
Fourteen months have passed since Here Media integrated the Advocate and Out brands into our company. As we are about to release our year-end issues, I thought it a good time to share our vision regarding these venerable and iconic properties.
During an economically troubled 2009, which saw the death of many important print publications, both The Advocate and Out fared significantly better advertising-wise than the industry as a whole. Together the brands will show a small profit.
Aaron Hicklin, editor in chief of Out, has used his exquisite editorial voice to make that magazine the largest and most successful gay publication in the world. In June 2008 he recommended that we hire Jon Barrett as editor in chief of The Advocate. Jon, an enormously gifted and talented individual, thinks beyond print and has supercharged the Advocate brand. The meteoric rise in traffic to Advocate.com proves this. Thanks to Jon and his extraordinary team, The Advocate now reaches more people in a single month than it previously did in an entire year.
We have added extensive new features and staff to The Advocate, including our company's first Washington correspondent, Kerry Eleveld. As those of you who frequent Advocate.com know, Kerry's dogged reporting -- especially at White House press briefings -- has helped drive the agenda this year on issues such as marriage equality and "don't ask, don't tell." Also of particular note, The Advocate launched its first-ever website exclusively for women, SheWired.com.
Here's the interview.
The letter continues below the fold.
As the owner of a television network, we realize the importance of professionally created video news content. Accordingly, we have hired and integrated several new staff members who can work cross-platform -- in print, online, and broadcast. Sadly, that meant we had to say goodbye to four valued members of The Advocate's editorial team.
The recent closures of Gourmet, Portfolio, Genre, and other magazines have shown the weaknesses of the print publication model. The rising costs of paper, printing, and postage have become a major problem. Therefore, we plan to greatly reduce these costs by jointly marketing The Advocate and Out magazines. We will fulfill Advocate subscriptions via joint delivery with Out. Advocate subscribers will continue inue to receive their monthly magazine along with a copy of Out at no extra charge. This move will also allow us to continue to offer Out at affordable subscription prices, either as a stand-alone title or with the choice to receive The Advocate as well. The strategy preserves our ability to deliver the same high-quality print magazines while allocating additional resources to editorial content.
We believe we must distribute content via print, online, and television in order to sustain a viable news service -- one that can afford to provide professionally written, edited, and produced stories and news packages. Our organization maintains the highest level of journalistic integrity. Here Media employees, of which there are more than 150, all believe that you deserve honesty and professionalism.
On behalf of our entire family, I thank you for your remarkable support during our first year. I invite you to visit our other sites: Out.com, OutTraveler.com, SheWired.com, HereTV.com, HIVPlusMag.com, as well as our newest acquisitions, Gay.com and PlanetOut.com. Until all Americans have full equality, we will remain The Advocate.
Sincerely,
Paul Colichman
CEO, Here Media, Inc.
A few questions for readers, since it's an open opportunity to discuss your LGBT news reading habits?
- How many of you subscribe to The Advocate or any other print LGBT magazine?
- How many buy one on occasion at the newsstand/store?
- How many read online only for news, and is it LGBT outlets, blogs, etc?
- What do you think will become of print news services -- will they be forced to go online only (the printing and distribution costs can be onerous black hole expenses for publishers)?
- Do you think readers are willing to pay for online content? If not, how can it be self-sustaining if the ad revenue isn't there?
11/5/2009: So I receive this email from Kay Flaminio of Equality NC and she said no one signed up to dine with us at the ENC Gala! Wow, rejection, that sux! Is it the drive to Greensboro, or are all social calendars booked? In any case, I'm running this post again just in case someone's game...Kate and I don't want to dine alone as we celebrate a great year of legislative gains in North Carolina, so why don't you join our table at Equality NC Foundation's 2009 Equality Gala on Saturday, November 14 (6:30PM-9:00PM) at the beautiful Empire Room in downtown Greensboro?
This year Equality NC Foundation will be honoring Sen. Julia Boseman for her courageous leadership in getting the School Violence Prevention Act passed. Special recognition will also be given to Winston-Salem's young Kate Mabe for drawing statewide media attention to how it feels to be bullied and to the strength of character our young people need to move forward in a tough world.
There will also be a special presentation by Lennie Gerber. She and her partner Pearl Berlin are currently gracing billboards in Greensboro, the latest campaign by Triad Equality Alliance to show through pictures that we're just like everyone else. Click here to see the beautiful photo of Lennie and Pearl.
The 2009 Equality Gala will follow the 2009 Equality Conference to be held at UNCG, which will feature eighteen workshops to choose from, including a session that Mandy Carter, Jimmy Creech and and I will hold on:
The Dallas Principles: No Delay, No ExcusesThe keynote speaker Brian Bond, the White House Deputy Director of Public Engagement and former Executive Director of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, so you know it will be a unique opportunity to hear plans from and speak with someone in the Obama admin.In May 2009, in Dallas, Texas, twenty-four thinkers, activists, and donors gathered to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States. The result was The Dallas Principles. This panel, composed of some of the authors, will discuss the Principles, the goals they address and the accompanying call to action. The audience will be invited to discuss how the Principles can be implemented nationally, statewide and locally.
To register for the conference, gala, or both events, go to equalitync.org/conference. When you register for the gala, you'll be asked if you've been recruited by a captain. Find our names in the pull-down list of captains so you can be seated with your blogmistress and my lovely wife Kate...
You can also go to equalitync.org/conference for ho feftel info, the gala menu, preferred attire, directions, and other details. New information is being added daily, so stay tuned...
Kate and I look forward to seeing you there!
Let's just say that a little leaked email proves LGBTs are seen as the easy gAyTM to the DNC that can be manipulated, ignored, and pickpocketed as mob rule strips us of civil rights without a finger being lifted to help at the eleventh hour. It's worse -- stripping resources at the time of need. I won't chronicle what John and Adam have detailed quite well, but if you had any reservations about the intentions versus the reality of how games are played with our community, this should clear it up.
I spoke with another DNC official today after my piece on the OFA's fuckups/refusals to help, and that official told me "Some Mainers inadvertently got the email, but it was not sent to our Maine list." I was also told that this was a "glitch", and the quote above confirms that. Okay, one might think, a glitch is your system has a few people with the wrong zip codes in them, so they get a blast meant for someone else. Whoops. Fine. That's not actually what happened. What happened, per Tobias' e-mail, is the DNC did a large e-mail blast on this, and wanted to make sure Mainers didn't get that e-mail, for fear that the gays might find out and ask, how come we didn't get this kind of help?
It's kind of like being forwarded a party invite the host doesn't want you to come to, and when you show up, everyone gets silent and it's a-w-k-w-a-r-d. The party, in this case, was electoral help, and OFA wanted to make sure people didn't find out it was being grossly insensitive by not extending an invitation to the gays in Maine. Awesome.
I don't know about you, but at the very least, it's a peek at the kind the two-timing that goes on in national politics with constituencies they find "troublesome" or a perceived "liability" (save the $$$, of course). The difference is that the peek inside makes you realize how easily you've been had. In the case of LGBTs, it's a screw job over and over. They don't mind lying flat out, but catching them with their pants down usually hits a raw nerve.
[T]he DNC has concerns about getting involved in local ballot initiatives? Why? They did it last year under Howard Dean, when they donated $25,000 to the coalition fighting Prop 8's repeal of gay marriage. President Jimmy Carter did it in 1978, when he came out against the Briggs Initiative, that would have banned gays and lesbians from being teachers in Cal in California. But regardless, why does the DNC (and the White House) have a problem getting involved when a core Democratic constituency is having its civil rights taken away by the far-right base of the Republican party? We were promised that this administration would be our fierce advocate. Now all we get are excuses.
Shut the gAyTM down; only give directly to candidates and organizations you believe are truly working in your best interest. Not a penny to the DNC; it's the only leverage you have as an average citizen. The big donors in our community have to take a stand on this kind of nonsense, otherwise, they are enabling this kind of treatment of our community. It's party-building at our expense each and every time, as we watch windows of opportunity close. The thought of a halt to the cash flow will stop this BS pronto, if only to make them listen for a goddamn minute before stepping on the gas to run over us again.
Related:* 2010 panic: kiss our issues goodbye now...
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