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Editors of Out magazine, The Advocate depart financially troubled company on same day

The high-profile departures appeared to come as a surprise to employees at the two media outlets, both of which are based in Los Angeles.

“Personally, I'm pretty stunned,” one employee, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity, said. “The three highest-ranking members of a company all leaving in one day is just a lot to process, so I'm still wrapping my mind around it.”

Multiple sources with close knowledge of the departures said they were all due to the same reason: finances. Pride Media, which is part of California-based Oreva Capital, has been plagued by reports of unpaid invoices by freelance journalists.

Earlier this year, the National Writers’ Union announced a suit against Pride Media on behalf of 25 freelancers who were then allegedly owed over $40,000 for work that Pride Media published, but did not pay for. This suit and other efforts used the social media hashtag #OutOwes to draw attention to the issue.

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by Anonymousreply 170December 19, 2019 6:14 AM

His eyebrows and beard are gorgeous.

by Anonymousreply 1December 11, 2019 10:44 PM

[quote] As recently as Tuesday, one LGBTQ journalist, John Paul Brammer, a contributor to NBC News Digital, said he hadn’t been paid by Out for months of work.

With stunning journalistic work such as “We Won’t Let Donald Trump Use Queer Latinx Bodies To Fuel Islamophobia” I am fucking FLOORED that people wouldn’t pay to keep such an important publication alive!

Get woke, go broke.

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by Anonymousreply 2December 11, 2019 10:46 PM

Philip was a rising star at Condé Nast and the apple of Anna’s eye. He left and fell on his face. His statement to WWD was dripping in drama and self pity. He is a twat. I hope he winds up working in retail.

by Anonymousreply 3December 11, 2019 10:48 PM

one of them was rumored to be boinking Jussie Smollett back in the day......no wonder the coverage was so biased in favor of Jus.

by Anonymousreply 4December 11, 2019 10:53 PM

Philip Picardi's hole is too worn out to revert to shopbottoming. There are younger models available.

by Anonymousreply 5December 11, 2019 10:57 PM

I couldn't believe PP left Cunty Nasty to go work for a gay magazine that has never really "made it".

by Anonymousreply 6December 11, 2019 11:00 PM

They clashed with trannies who are trying to make both mags all trans/all the time.

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by Anonymousreply 7December 11, 2019 11:01 PM

Pete called his friends at Mckinsey and said "shut 'em down"!

by Anonymousreply 8December 11, 2019 11:05 PM

They are exclusively trans, black, POC, and lesbian now.

by Anonymousreply 9December 11, 2019 11:06 PM

Deadbeats. Total deadbeats. If they can't cough up a mere $40,000, then how much longer will they be in business for?

by Anonymousreply 10December 11, 2019 11:07 PM

OP what the fuck is wrong with you? How the hell do you even manage to use a computer let alone post on Datalounge? You are one of the rudest son of a bitches I’ve ever encountered on here in years. There’s already been a thread on this OP. As a matter of fact, you selfish asshole, there have been several threads on this, but ohhhh nooooo “I don’t have to do a search” says Mister Head Up His Ass. Well pull your fucking head out of your ass for once in your life you selfish son-of-a-bitch and have some consideration for others for a change and do a goddamn search first. Is that going to kill you? Is it? Can you just answer that question? Can you? Is it really going to kill you to do a search first? What is wrong with you? Are you that much of an idiot that you can’t use Google? Don’t even try the old “search function doesn’t work” line because every cunt on here knows how to work around that. Do a search before you post a thread next time you fucking asshole. You’ve ruined my day and I hate you.

by Anonymousreply 11December 11, 2019 11:09 PM

Zach Stafford can get it.

by Anonymousreply 12December 11, 2019 11:10 PM

The admonishment troll has stepped his game up!

by Anonymousreply 13December 11, 2019 11:10 PM

R13, I think it's slowly turning into a sexual fetish for him. You just know that he came all over his keyboard when he finished the last sentence in R11...

by Anonymousreply 14December 11, 2019 11:17 PM

R8 CIA Pete went in for the kill. I approve.

by Anonymousreply 15December 11, 2019 11:17 PM

Why should anyone seem surprised ? They lacked substance and maturity in both publications. They became more like USWeekly lite mixed with Yahoo and a side of softcore porn.

by Anonymousreply 16December 11, 2019 11:18 PM

Before going to Out, Philip Picardi's big "success story" was turning Teen Vogue's website "woke" and adding features like an explicit guide to having anal sex. (Which of course had no mention of condoms as an option, and they had to go back and correct it.)

Then he left, Conde Nast realized they couldn't monetize any of his foolishness, folded the print version and turned the website back to fluff and fashion.

The Daily Mail would describe his career as "going from strength to strength."

by Anonymousreply 17December 11, 2019 11:19 PM

Meet R11, the next editor of (P)OUT.

by Anonymousreply 18December 11, 2019 11:19 PM

[quote]one of them was rumored to be boinking Jussie Smollett back in the day......no wonder the coverage was so biased in favor of Jus.

Which one gurl? Name names!

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by Anonymousreply 19December 11, 2019 11:19 PM

The abrupt departure of Out Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief Phillip Picardi Wednesday, which he announced via his Twitter page, was followed by a disclosure from sources to speaking to the Los Angeles Blade Wednesday that more senior staff at Pride Media which owns Out and The Advocate magazines were also departing. This is including both The Advocate’s Editor-In-Chief Zack Stafford and the CEO of Pride Media, Orlando Reece.

“Today marks my last day at @outmagazine, just one year after I started. This journey has been shorter and more complex than I hoped, but it has been an honor to helm this title, and a deeper honor to lead such an incredibly talented team of LGBTQ+ people,” Picardi wrote. “Each of us on the team for the Out relaunch firmly believes that LGBTQ+ media deserves the best. So, that’s what we gave you: Our best. We did all that we could with what we had, and I think—more often than not—we made magic,” he added.

Picardi in the continuous tweet thread also paid tribute to his production staff, photographers, editorial staff, reporters, of Out magazine for their work.

A source at Pride Media told the Los Angeles Blade that there was no advance warning;

“We had a short meeting this morning, (Wednesday) but we are mostly finding out about this from text from coworkers, twitter, and yeah media inquires like yours. We’re all just, waiting.”

This is a developing story

( or it's dead in the water...)

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by Anonymousreply 20December 11, 2019 11:19 PM

The Advocate and Out similarly stopped paying people about a decade ago. They kept commissioning work but seemed to have simply decided not to pay any longer. I eventually got back pay, and then I was asked to keep writing without pay as a “contributor.”

I wish I had been born when writers were actually appreciated as professionals and when a person couldn’t become a “writer” or editor for a major publication because they are attractive and regardless of talent or ability.

by Anonymousreply 21December 11, 2019 11:22 PM

Philip Picardi is the biggest gay flop since ...

by Anonymousreply 22December 11, 2019 11:24 PM

This is all about R21 and is very prevalent in media in general.

Who doesn't want their name in print (if you are a writer)? Then they ask again and again, and there is a point where you are just a free employee. Add to that, this free employee may be writing articles/opinions that are not kosher with your gay/lesbian base, but ... they don't cost money so who gives a fuck?

by Anonymousreply 23December 11, 2019 11:27 PM

Zach Stafford’s most recent tweet from this morning:

“Today I’m sitting down with Elizabeth Hurly and 13 year old gay me is screaming”

He misspelled her name. You know she’s the one who ordered his head on a platter!

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by Anonymousreply 24December 11, 2019 11:28 PM

Lord R24. I have used Twitter 3 times now (including this) but I sent a tweet to him dragging him on this. Spell check is an absoulely must. He needs to be shamed for months at a minimum.

by Anonymousreply 25December 11, 2019 11:35 PM

[quote]The Advocate and Out similarly stopped paying people about a decade ago. They kept commissioning work but seemed to have simply decided not to pay any longer. I eventually got back pay, and then I was asked to keep writing without pay as a “contributor.”

Yep. You were supposed to do it "for the cause."

by Anonymousreply 26December 11, 2019 11:49 PM

R11. No one does their research first...just to bug your ass

by Anonymousreply 27December 12, 2019 12:11 AM

No, R27, neither do you. This is the only thread about this topic, and R11 is a mere troll who just copy-pastes that same diatribe on dozens of single undeserving threads.

by Anonymousreply 28December 12, 2019 3:23 AM

Just this weekend, I was talking to a friend who wrote for The Advocate 10 years ago. They owed him $500, and he got the run around for six months until he finally said he was going to sue them if he didn’t get his fee. After that, they finally cut him his check. He knew that he had burned the bridge with them, but he didn’t care...he’s already vowed not to work with them again.

by Anonymousreply 29December 12, 2019 3:29 AM

They both went all tranny all the time, fuck them

by Anonymousreply 30December 12, 2019 3:35 AM

They had issues paying contributors before, when these editors took over.

Both have had their day, and it's time to fold now.

by Anonymousreply 31December 12, 2019 3:38 AM

92.5% OF THIS THREAD = STRAIGHT, WHITE, MALE, GAY-BASHING REPUBLICANS

by Anonymousreply 32December 12, 2019 4:01 AM

They were a lifeline at one point — people in small towns got them in plain envelopes, people in big cities bought them at the newsstand. At the time they were the only way to get LGB news.

Then came the internet. Pretty soon the only print advertisers were cruise lines, liquor companies, etc. The coverage reflected that lifestyle. And mainstream papers/magazines started reporting on LGB topics, the same way LGB people no longer had to live in their own neighborhoods.

Today you can get mainstream LGB news from a million sources, or your particular blend of the LGBTQA++++ lifestyle through online websites.

They're already a part of history — a very important part of history — but their day has passed. If a restaurant or storefront business serving the LGB community couldn't pay its LGB employees, it would deserve to close.

by Anonymousreply 33December 12, 2019 4:02 AM

The Admonishment Troll = The Redundant Thread Copycat, scorned, embarassed and bitter

by Anonymousreply 34December 12, 2019 4:02 AM

r33 There is absolutely still a space for an LGB magazine--too bad they were all sacrificed on the alter of trans in the last two decades. The old magazines willingly castrated themselves and are now upset that they're impotent! r1 summed it up perfectly.

by Anonymousreply 35December 12, 2019 4:05 AM

Gay media is completely useless these days. There's nothing they write about that i can't find from a mainstream source. I'm sure they had their day when no one was covering gay issues but them but they're currently bringing nothing to the table so they can all go out of business.

by Anonymousreply 36December 12, 2019 4:10 AM

le snore. I feel sorry for writers.

by Anonymousreply 37December 12, 2019 4:24 AM

APOCALYPSE NOW... We need gay media as SCOTUS is about to rip away all LGBT protections

by Anonymousreply 38December 12, 2019 4:28 AM

Both these morons went after Pete and now they are jokes. If it isnt clear yet, u go after Pete, you become a loser

by Anonymousreply 39December 12, 2019 5:19 AM

Why didn't Marsha P. Johnson save them the way she saved all gay people by single-handedly bestowing gay equality upon them?

Can't trans women of color do everything better than the lowly cis males can?

by Anonymousreply 40December 12, 2019 6:43 AM

[quote]Can't trans women of color do everything better than the lowly cis males can?

Well the current executive editor of Out is self-loathing, homophobic gay ma— excuse me, Trans Woman of Color, Raquel Willis. Maybe Will will get promoted?

by Anonymousreply 41December 12, 2019 7:01 AM

The use of writers who are promised payment but don't get it is as old as gay publishing history. The New York Native (newspaper) did the same thing, other publications as well. They survive for a time because to ambitious writers it's worth it--for a limited time--to see their work in print and establish at least some sort of track record. But after a while you refuse to be used anymore.

It has never been clear whether writers are just being cheated while the editors live high or whether these publications wouldn't survive even for a bit without the cheating of the writing pool calculated into their budget. At least Christopher Street (magazine) never planned to pay its writers and was very open about that. Major writers contributed even so, because, at least at first, creating what was hoped to be "the gay New Yorker" was being part of history. Edmund White, Felice Picano, Andrew Holleran, Boyd McDonald, Ethan Mordden, Quentin Crisp, and plenty of others such never had a problem working for free this way. One of them--I'd best not say which--once told me that he wrote not only his own signed pieces but the letters to the editor as well. When typesetting the issue, the editor would phone this guy up and say something like "We need a letter of praise for Name Name's article on gay life in Moscow." Or "We have to correct an error in the piece on Whatever. Give me twelve lines at 23 pica." And the writer I'm speaking of would dictate the letter over the phone.

The same outfit that brought out the New York Native and Christopher Street also published Theater Week, which actually made money-- because it was an arts magazine, not a gay one. Gay ones just don't seem to pay off in the long run. But even Theater Week could not carry the whole line, especially when Act Up became outraged at the coverage of AIDS in the Native. If I recall this correctly, Theater Week offered subscribers a deal they could resist if they re-upped, and after everyone did, the whole shebang went under without giving refunds or (as many magazines did) the remainder of your subscription with another magazine.

I got Seven Days that way, when Spy (I think) gave up. And I loved Seven Days--delivered right to your apartment door! But it went under, too.

by Anonymousreply 42December 12, 2019 7:26 AM

Sorry--a deal they could NOT resist.

by Anonymousreply 43December 12, 2019 7:28 AM

[quote]Spell check is [bold]an absoulely must[/bold]. He needs to be shamed for months at a minimum.

And how long shall we shame you?

by Anonymousreply 44December 12, 2019 7:55 AM

[quote]I hope he winds up working in retail.

The meanest gay professional curse I've ever read. Bravo!

by Anonymousreply 45December 12, 2019 8:03 AM

Good. I hope the company goes bankrupt. Serves them right after selling out to trans.

by Anonymousreply 46December 12, 2019 8:15 AM

R2 NAILED IT.

by Anonymousreply 47December 12, 2019 8:16 AM

Wasn't aware these tranny rags still existed.

by Anonymousreply 48December 12, 2019 8:46 AM

Print magazines in general are almost nonexistent these days.

LGBT media has changed dramatically in the last 20-30 years. Much of it has been absorbed into local independent papers or local/regional mags.

The old themes these magazines lived for are passe to most of today's potential readers. No one wants to read about XYZ straight person and how "brave" they were to be a 'mo on screen in such and such movie. No one wants to pay $7.95 to see a magazine filled with shirtless dudes in go go shorts when you can see a million of them for free any time of day on the Internet. And no one wants to see dozens of ads for vodka or beer when most young readers are either not into the bar scene or are in recovery.

by Anonymousreply 49December 12, 2019 9:06 AM

[quote] Philip Picardi is the biggest gay flop since ...

Since Larry Kramer wrote the screenplay for [italic]Lost Horizon[/italic]: the musical.

by Anonymousreply 50December 12, 2019 9:54 AM

Somehow I got on their mailing list and have been getting both magazines in the mail for over a year. I have no interest in paying for a subscription. Both magazines are way too heavy on gender bending and tranny life in LA or NYC. I have zippo in common with these people and have no real interest in spending money for either mag.

Soon both magazines will be completely gone, but that is the marketplace speaking.

Create a decent gay themed magazine and people will come.

by Anonymousreply 51December 12, 2019 12:04 PM

In the 90s — during the pharma AIDS boom — gay publications thrived. They paid. And there were many of them. By 9/11 the drop started happening with advertisers... Then the digital revolution made sure no one made money in the freemium content market. Today, the Kansas City Star announced its dropping the Saturday edition. Kevin Sessums was arguably the top of the celebrity gay-journo mountain. I think his social media posts indicate that Sessums is struggling to find paid work. None of this has anything to do with trans-focused content or even quality.

by Anonymousreply 52December 12, 2019 12:15 PM

[quote] If I recall this correctly, Theater Week offered subscribers a deal they could resist if they re-upped, and after everyone did, the whole shebang went under without giving refunds or (as many magazines did) the remainder of your subscription with another magazine.

Yup, they screwed us over. But I love and miss them just the same.

Great post, R42.

by Anonymousreply 53December 12, 2019 12:32 PM

R51 The “somehow” is that they got your name and address (You likely are a former subscriber.), and they mail occasional copies to you and many others so that they can claim a circulation that’s higher than actual subscriptions and copies sold at retail. Magazines make money from advertising far more than from retail. It’s common practice among national magazines. I semi-regularly get The Atlantic and O without having paid to subscribe to The Atlantic in several years and Oprah’s magazine in a decade.

by Anonymousreply 54December 12, 2019 12:46 PM

They spent the last six months attacking people to judge, Ellen DeGeneres and RuPaul. What is surprise that queer people weren't snatching up their magazine in droves. Their idea of gayness became wrapped up in it political worldview which is held by a minority of LGBT people. Only thing they were successful at is getting some clicks on Twitter

by Anonymousreply 55December 12, 2019 1:42 PM

R55 Good Lord that came out garbled as fuck.... They attacked Pete Buttigieg, Ellen DeGeneres and RuPaul. Not surprising that LGBT tuned out

by Anonymousreply 56December 12, 2019 1:43 PM

You mean the LGB r56

by Anonymousreply 57December 12, 2019 2:06 PM

I do enjoy the longer, analytic articles in The Advocate. Hard to find anything comparible on internet news sites, which seem to thrive on quick reading articles.

Why is it that, whenever I subscribe to a magazine, it closely down shortly thereafter. It happened with Spy, Men's Fitness, Money, Instinct, and now, surely, Advocate/Out

by Anonymousreply 58December 12, 2019 2:33 PM

Sad that so many gay publications are out of business. Grew up in the era of The Advocate, The NY Native, Boston Bay Windows, Washington Blade, Christopher Street, Frontiers (LA) and remember when OUT became the new mag. Now almost all a shadow of their former selves or gone completely.

by Anonymousreply 59December 12, 2019 2:42 PM

As others have said, the focus on a small fringe group isn't exactly attractive to most gay and lesbian people. Nobody really wants to read about Jacob and Alok and how "brave" they are to walk down the street dressed like circus clowns in high heels.

by Anonymousreply 60December 12, 2019 3:43 PM

Who are up-and-coming young gay journalists supposed to write for now? WND? Lifesite News? Don't make me titter!

by Anonymousreply 61December 12, 2019 3:47 PM
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by Anonymousreply 62December 12, 2019 3:58 PM

GLBTQ++++ voices are being ERASED by this travesty!!!!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 63December 12, 2019 4:51 PM

[quote]Philip Picardi is the biggest gay flop since ...

John Travolta's Battlefield Earth.

by Anonymousreply 64December 12, 2019 5:02 PM

If you took even the slightest looksee into their web sites over the past 24 months you would not surprised whatsoever by this turn of events.

Unqualified leadership + TQ editorial bent = disaster

by Anonymousreply 65December 12, 2019 5:03 PM

OUT is so crumby....nuttin but ads for tacky gay fashions....git real guy....not fun

by Anonymousreply 66December 12, 2019 5:04 PM

What do you expect when you let the booze industry call the shots?

by Anonymousreply 67December 12, 2019 5:22 PM

R7 That's an OUT cover of Miss Fame, a drag queen gay man not a tranny. The article was all about Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen aka Miss Fame talking about his life growing up in a small town and being physically abused and called a faggot by his grandfather for being effeminate and gay. And his pursuit of becoming a makeup artist through his drag act. There was absolutely nothing in there about transgenders.

Congratulations, you OUTed yourself as a homophobe.

by Anonymousreply 68December 12, 2019 5:23 PM

No, R68, he didn't, he just picked the wrong example.

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by Anonymousreply 69December 12, 2019 5:25 PM

I was a freelance writer in the late 90's and through the 00's. The thrill of seeing your byline in print passes.

Getting paid for pieces after they were published was often a complex obstacle course that destroyed your dignity and created unnecessary resentments and burned bridges. I hd too many horror stories to remember. I still cringe and get angry when I think about them, and the people involved.

The only normal, do-the-work-then-get-a-check pay structures for freelancers were at places like NY Times, or the odd lucky gig at Vanity Fair or Artforum. Or, if a mainstream publisher didn't pay for certain things (like NPR, which didn't pay you to read your own monologues on air), they would tell you this very clearly up front so everything was on the level, allowing you to proceed as you wished.

Blaming outside elements or trends in publication are crap. If the Out and Advocate are still having messy, awful problems like this for years and years, still in 2019, it's the sign of a totally shoddy and dysfunctional organization that reflects badly anyone involved with it. These editors shouldn't be proud of this press coverage.

by Anonymousreply 70December 12, 2019 5:27 PM

Why were these people not fired years ago before it could get this bad?

by Anonymousreply 71December 12, 2019 5:31 PM

I miss HX.

by Anonymousreply 72December 12, 2019 5:35 PM

Is Picard actually a flop? I'm open to the notion, but as I see it he's landing on his two feet and has been welcomed back by Conde Nast. This hardly seems to be his fault- any 28ish year old would leap at being the EIC of a magazine. Unfortunately, his risk assessment was faulty as it appears these problems have plagued the magazine for decades.

by Anonymousreply 73December 12, 2019 5:38 PM

Picard had no experience managing a magazine, just posing as one.

by Anonymousreply 74December 12, 2019 6:34 PM

I wouldn't trust any of these deadbeats to manage a lemonade stand.

by Anonymousreply 75December 12, 2019 6:43 PM

[quote] What do you expect when you let the booze industry call the shots?

One of the best magazines in the country is in, of all places, Madison WI.

The published worked for Conde Nast and then moved to the Midwest. He launched the magazine about 10 years ago and one of the things he'd pushed for from the start is that there would be no booze ads and no extremely explicit ads for anything. Local advertisers have supported the magazine and website very well. He wanted the focus to reflect the title: our lives.

It's low budget and I don't think he pays (or pays much) for writers, but he's also opened it up so that people who have a story to tell can do it in the pages of the magazine - an ethnography, if you will.

I think it's a wonderful idea and wish more magazines were like it. Much better than the 89,675,367,293rd profile of some straight actor that pretended to like cock in a movie for 30 seconds and now wants an Oscar and a Purple Heart for it.

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by Anonymousreply 76December 12, 2019 8:30 PM

People don't read like they used to do so. Sad.

They text. The look at pictures. They post. Sad.

by Anonymousreply 77December 12, 2019 9:26 PM

I loved HX, and NEXT!

Honest, fun and filled with hot personal ads, like a DECENT gay rag should be!

by Anonymousreply 78December 13, 2019 4:13 AM

NYT does and has been doing rather good to excellent coverage of LGBT issues for years now both domestic and international.

Past Sunday's issue had a glossy cover story on gay artists revising history. Heck even New York Post and Daily News have come around and feature decent coverage of LGBT issues.

Classified advertising (ok, personals section) long has moved online or now even apps, so what's left?

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by Anonymousreply 79December 13, 2019 7:14 AM

R79, it called them "queer."

by Anonymousreply 80December 13, 2019 7:20 AM

Isn't Miss Fame genderfluid, r68? Definitely not a "gay man".

by Anonymousreply 81December 13, 2019 7:21 AM

R80

It does seem as if "queer" is being reclaimed same way AAs did with the "n" word. That is gays have taken on the word but without the bite of past.

Mr. Jesse Green is an out gay (married) man, so assume he knew or knows what he's doing.

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by Anonymousreply 82December 13, 2019 7:45 AM

[quote]It does seem as if "queer" is being reclaimed

They can keep it. I don't want it back.

by Anonymousreply 83December 13, 2019 7:47 AM

No night of bars or clubs in NYC wasn't complete with out grabbing an issue of HX or NEXT on way out of door. Taxis that picked up patrons from said clubs, discos, parties, etc.... were full of discarded issues. *LOL* That or you found them in diners or otherwise discarded by those who didn't (or couldn't) keep.

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by Anonymousreply 84December 13, 2019 7:55 AM
by Anonymousreply 85December 13, 2019 8:11 AM

Both of them started one-year ago. Whatever the editors' shortcomings, they didn't stand a chance of succeeding or accomplishing something interesting.

With both Out (stated circulation 203,000) and The Advocate (stated circulation 175,000) lurching on for many years, aiming alternately at relevance or shock to an ever dwindling audience, why on earth were both magazines allowed to compete with one another under the same ownership? The only answer that makes sense is the cynical one: that each had some small pool of established advertisers who might be persuaded to pay twice. The gay magazine business was never a comfortable ride for long, and too often they began with good intentions and quickly crashed to owners who had lost interest except for the maximum return with the least effort. Why pay writers? Why bother with stories that don't have of-the-moment celebrities (often straight) on the cover for no good reason at all except that gay magazines have done this for decades? In the end, they lost interest even in that and relented to Trans, Theys, past expiry date "celebrities", and fashion for 17-year-olds with deep pockets.

The two editors were never given enough rope to hang themselves. Had they been wiser, they would have seen that the jobs were impossible and stepping stones to nowhere.

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by Anonymousreply 86December 13, 2019 8:34 AM

R86 You have a point. The Advocate was originally supposed to be "newsier", more like a gay version of Time while Out was a glossy lifestyle magazine but in the last few years, you can barely tell them apart.

Now, they're both vapid.

by Anonymousreply 87December 13, 2019 8:40 AM

R87 What are you talking about? The Advocate still publishes important investigative stories like this one. These stories literally save lives.

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by Anonymousreply 88December 13, 2019 11:25 AM

Filed under “business.”

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by Anonymousreply 89December 13, 2019 11:27 AM

Freckle, for the unfortunately uninitiated, is a gender-nonconforming actor taking Hollywood by storm. Their over-the-top persona, reminiscent of the divas of Old Hollywood, made them the breakout star of the cult web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, with lines like, "Sometimes, things that are expensive, are worse."

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by Anonymousreply 90December 13, 2019 11:28 AM

Naked men is the only thing gay editors think gay men care about. And this is why both magazines became irrelevant to me over a decade ago.

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by Anonymousreply 91December 13, 2019 11:34 AM

Good riddance. really.

by Anonymousreply 92December 13, 2019 11:44 AM

BREAKING: The Advocate serves up all the nose-flute news you need.

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by Anonymousreply 93December 13, 2019 11:49 AM

Once they became all tranny all the time no one gave a fuck.

by Anonymousreply 94December 13, 2019 12:03 PM

R94 They’re not. As you can see above, they have plenty of non-tranny content: it’s just “photo essays” of mostly naked dudes—which is supposed to be pandering enough for horny, dumb gay men to subscribe.

They’ve been coasting a loooooong time on their brand identities.

by Anonymousreply 95December 13, 2019 12:15 PM

Good. Shut down, already.

by Anonymousreply 96December 13, 2019 12:26 PM

Gay listicles. no more actual journalism.

by Anonymousreply 97December 13, 2019 5:56 PM

But that's true, R191.

by Anonymousreply 98December 13, 2019 6:23 PM

Phillip Picardi was responsible for the ‘How to guide to anal sex‘ that was in Teen Vogue in 2017. It was notable because in the anatomy chart - published in a magazine aimed at teenage girls - the diagram did not include a clitoris. Sooo a really shitty badly done job.

I’m assuming that his work at Out magazine was just as careless and slapdash. Maybe next time they can hire someone competent.

by Anonymousreply 99December 13, 2019 6:26 PM

Shitty ass advice, or shitty-ass advice?

by Anonymousreply 100December 13, 2019 7:34 PM

[quote]I miss HX.

It's how I discovered Datalounge!

True story. They ran ads for some dating site with a cartoon character named a. The rest is history :)

by Anonymousreply 101December 13, 2019 8:13 PM

I was sadder to see LGB bookstores fold — A Different Light, etc.

by Anonymousreply 102December 13, 2019 8:22 PM

[italic]The Advocate[/italic] published an article from Michael Lucas about a decade ago defending pedophiles — the gist being that pedophilia was an orientation comparable to homosexuality — and that was it for me. I cancelled my subscription (that I'd had for at least a decade) with a note that told them when they cross the line of equating pedophilia with homosexuality, it was time to shutter.

They should have taken my advice then.

As my grandmother used to say, good riddance to bad rubbish!

by Anonymousreply 103December 13, 2019 8:48 PM

You could get that from Salon dot com for free. They were the ones who published that sickening article by heterosexual pedo Todd Nickerson defending himself and failing miserably.

by Anonymousreply 104December 13, 2019 9:10 PM

It's fairly impossible to have a successful magazine today, and gay magazines seem to have been a precarious business even at their peak. At the least they would have required good timing as to when to jump in and when to get out from a financial perspective. It' doesn't seem likely that anyone ever got rich writing or doing photography or artwork or graphic design or editing. If any money was to be made it was for the titular editors (maybe) and some top commissioned sales people (maybe) and the publishers.

There's still some room for some luxury market single subject areas: Conde Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, the women's fashion magazines, a few singular experiments like Monocle; otherwise it's the popular shit sold at the checkout lanes of grocery stores with Time and National Geographic (3.1M). Of the top ten magazines with a circulation of 1M or more in Europe, at least 8 are TV guides of some sort. In the UK, The National Trust Magazine tops the chart at 2M, followed by ten TV and radio guides and supermarket giveaway magazines. A circulation of 800,000 seems a success for a stand alone magazine (not a giveaway as part of, say, a paid AARP membership.)

I'm skeptical that the combined circulations of Advocate and Out add up the reported 375,000. When the two magazines came under the same ownership in 2000, the total combined figure was 203,000. There are not enough gay doctors' offices and gay businesses with waiting rooms to support 375,000. Lists and 130 photos of the Santa Speedo Run and moody photos of megstar "Freckle" and, my favorite -- thanks to R2 -- “We Won’t Let Donald Trump Use Queer Latinx Bodies To Fuel Islamophobia” ...who will pay for that shit when no one has time to make it through a day's worth of Instagram feed for free?

by Anonymousreply 105December 14, 2019 11:36 AM

Oh his FB page, Michael Musto posted a rant about Picardi and his history of not being paid by them. The comments kinda lit-up.

by Anonymousreply 106December 14, 2019 1:19 PM

tranny shit has taken over both mags. specially OUT which goes into the garbage after a 15 min scan while on the toilet. advocate is a booring political boor.

my fave mags are architectural digest, VF, ny review of books, the Smithsonian and W (tho one mo cover of nik Kidman gonna make me scream, dat goes for VF too)

by Anonymousreply 107December 14, 2019 1:36 PM

OMG who okd the cover foto on new OUT of lady ronan farrow, photoshopped to hell???? unreal.....the ones inside are even more hilarious...

is he the new dustin lance black?

by Anonymousreply 108December 14, 2019 2:00 PM

Career opportunities, guys!!!

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by Anonymousreply 109December 14, 2019 2:08 PM

R108 Ronan can be gorgeous when styled as a man. I don’t understand this recent Hillary Clinton hairdo phase he is in.

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by Anonymousreply 110December 14, 2019 2:11 PM

r110 that's a great pic of Ronan. There is no way in hell Woody Allen could be his biological father.

by Anonymousreply 111December 14, 2019 2:18 PM

R111 From certain angles (and with certain haircuts), he is gorgeous. In a way, I admire that in the midst of all the attention he is choosing to style himself in a way that makes him less conventionally attractive. But at the same time, I see him looking homely with the weird hairdo and can’t help myself from thinking “what the fuck is he thinking?”

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by Anonymousreply 112December 14, 2019 2:23 PM

He has Frank’s eyes.

by Anonymousreply 113December 14, 2019 2:23 PM

The editorial team

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by Anonymousreply 114December 14, 2019 2:26 PM

R114 They (and they and they and they and they and they) certainly looks like a professional editor to me!

As a career-long editor, I likewise spend my days draped in a pile of colleagues, all of us youthful and glamorous with carefully molded windswept hair! Such is the life of a slavish devotee of language.

by Anonymousreply 115December 14, 2019 2:31 PM

R114 The one in the back center looks like they is getting ready to breast feed. Is they a female? (Is “female” pejorative now? If so, I’m sorry; I don’t know of a gender-neutral way to describe a breast-feeding mother yet. I will catch on. Wait...is “I” offensive now, too? “We” is more inclusive and less egotistical.)

by Anonymousreply 116December 14, 2019 2:34 PM

has ronan shown his lady tits? ever? im drawn to her and wanna suk on them big hot new yawk tittys so bad..

by Anonymousreply 117December 14, 2019 2:40 PM

It's sad because I think gay media is dying largely thanks to social media and gay millennials not really supporting those sites/publications.

by Anonymousreply 118December 14, 2019 2:40 PM

The blown out lips are a bit much, god it hurts so to have needles in the lips, that's dedication to BEAUTY huh?

by Anonymousreply 119December 14, 2019 2:40 PM

Picardi's full statement.

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by Anonymousreply 120December 14, 2019 2:42 PM

Out and Advocate push the tranny/fluid/bla bla down our throats too dang much. wtf??? theyr like .05% of the gays.....weird

by Anonymousreply 121December 14, 2019 2:42 PM

r121

They have plenty of gay content. You clearly aren't looking and are trying to spread bullshit paranoia

by Anonymousreply 122December 14, 2019 2:45 PM

[quote]r24 Zach Stafford: “Today I’m sitting down with Elizabeth Hurly and 13 year old gay me is screaming”

Someone answered, [italic]"The 13-year old you probably never imagined that he would fail at so many jobs!"

by Anonymousreply 123December 14, 2019 2:55 PM

R123 That’s so mean. I don’t like that.

by Anonymousreply 124December 14, 2019 3:10 PM

Zach Stafford, former chief content officer of Grindr, former editor-in-chief of The Advocate.

You have to climb Mt. Everest to reach the Valley of the Dolls, It's a brutal climb to reach that peak.

by Anonymousreply 125December 14, 2019 4:11 PM

R125 According to MuckRack, he has been published in The Nation, The Guardian, NPR, Chicago Tribune, Teen Vogue. He should be OK. But he should not misspell the names of celebrities he claims always to have wanted to meet, and certainly not while working as editor in chief of a publication.

by Anonymousreply 126December 14, 2019 4:35 PM

The photo at r114 IS EXACTLY WHY THEY ARE FAILING. Its no different than trying to make the Kardashians legitimate by putting them on the cover of Vogue as some sort of Icons. They are completely out of touch with REAL LGBT.

by Anonymousreply 127December 14, 2019 4:48 PM

They look totally ridiculous.

by Anonymousreply 128December 14, 2019 5:00 PM

They look like they’re auditioning for Taylor Swift’s squad or Melrose Place 3.0 on the CW.

by Anonymousreply 129December 14, 2019 5:03 PM

[quote] They are completely out of touch with REAL LGBT.

REAL G & L don't say 'LGBT.'

by Anonymousreply 130December 14, 2019 5:18 PM

r130...I agree, but I was trying to be nice.

by Anonymousreply 131December 14, 2019 5:22 PM

Picardi and Stafford must both have big dicks. Barring talent, it’s the most obvious explanation for their ascents to EICs at gay magazines.

by Anonymousreply 132December 14, 2019 5:28 PM

When these publications stop speaking for gay people, they stopped having any reason to exist.

by Anonymousreply 133December 14, 2019 5:48 PM

R132 I'm guessing it's their cocksucking skills, not dicks

by Anonymousreply 134December 14, 2019 5:51 PM

R134 It has to be their dicks if the men who hired them are gay. Because gay men don’t give money and work to guys to get their dicks sucked. They do give money and other gifts to guys with big dicks.

by Anonymousreply 135December 14, 2019 5:53 PM

R135 they give work and money to pretty people because they aren't attractive themselves.

by Anonymousreply 136December 14, 2019 5:58 PM

Oreva Capital, which owns Out and the Advocate, is run by a straight guy who also owns High Times magazine and has given political donations to antigay Republican politicians.

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by Anonymousreply 137December 14, 2019 6:02 PM

R137 CEOs of companies don't normally hire down the line.

by Anonymousreply 138December 14, 2019 6:21 PM

The trans content of the magazines was too much.

Gay and lesbian people are homosexual and gave no interest or community with trans people.

by Anonymousreply 139December 14, 2019 6:24 PM

It’s not just them, either. Print media is dying all around. It’s like dominoes almost. If MAD Magazine is done for her, then nobody is safe.

by Anonymousreply 140December 14, 2019 6:28 PM

This thread was worth it for the gorgeous shots of Ronan as a palate cleanser.

by Anonymousreply 141December 14, 2019 6:48 PM

I don’t have a problem with transgender people, R139. I realize that puts me in a minority among gay people here on DataLounge. I am happy to be an advocate for equal rights for all people. All people.

That said, the LGBT outlets are no longer relevant to my life. When I was young and emerging from traumatic, abusive school environments, Out and The Advocate gave me hope and they also felt edgy and rebellious and meaningful. They were important enough to me that I aspired to write for them.

Eventually, I did. And you know what they say—don’t get too close to your heroes. I learned that the gay angle was shoehorned into any interview promoting any celebrity who wanted to exploit a gay sub-demographic. I woke up to the realization that these were just consumer magazines, and the alcohol, drug, fashion and travel industries saw gay people as vulnerable to buying in response to pandering. That was disappointing. But I stayed loyal because of the brands.

Eventually, though, I became sad about the gay community overall. I don’t belong to one. The one here in DC is ultra-conformist—you’re supposed to go to the same gym, have the same body and the same haircut, fuck without protection, and use forced gay lingo—yaaaaaaas bitch!—and be straight women’s pets. That’s not my identity at all. I always have been openly gay and never have been ashamed in any way. My mannerisms and voice are stereotypically gay. I am perfectly fine with it. But by and large, I am Incompatible with the prescribed gay community. And who prescribes what gay men are supposed to be? Gay media.

When I look at Out or especially The Advocate now, they just don’t represent me. Most of the content is not relevant to gay men. And again, I support transgender rights but I am not transgender and I don’t relate to the content. I do have a hard time reading a lot of the activist trans content because it’s always combative and accusatory rather than inclusive. The only gay content I see in the publications nowadays is pictures of nearly naked men, of the sort we are supposed to feel obligated to dedicate our lives to trying to look like. I don’t have any interest in it. At 41, that seems like an utterly childish and vapid pursuit. And it’s insulting to me that gay editors think that all gay men are such simpletons that we will click on anything with a picture of nipples and abs. That renders us about as high-level thinkers as Labrador retrievers who hump any leg that moves coyly in their direction. It’s no wonder straight women have reduced us to their pets. This just isn’t my world. I am outwardly a boring person, and inwardly I am full of curiosity and I love exploring ideas of all sorts—just not “How to Look Like Ken Doll Part 46” or “How Davey Wavey And His Twink Pornstar Friends Saved Pride By Simulating Blowjobs In Central Park!”

No, thank you. Someone above named Smithsonian Magazine as a favorite, and I second his recommendation. It’s a very, very good magazine. Out and The Advocate are...also available.

by Anonymousreply 142December 14, 2019 6:54 PM

R142 "I don’t have a problem with transgender people".....and stopped reading.

by Anonymousreply 143December 14, 2019 7:24 PM

I do have a problem with a man who would rather cut off his dick than stick it in another guys ass.

by Anonymousreply 144December 14, 2019 7:58 PM

how in fuk does Out stay in business??? just ads for bozo fug gifty things....their readership is sooo low.

same for the once great Advocate.

wow the trans thing has been pushed down our throats, and if I may say so: the ethnic trans stuff especially ..

by Anonymousreply 145December 15, 2019 11:39 AM

There's this, RDF. Back in the late 70s living in a rural environment it was important to me. Maybe I'll pick it up again.

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by Anonymousreply 146December 15, 2019 12:23 PM

I bought something online and got a delivery of both Out and The Advocate for six months. Absolutely nothing of interest. There was an article about Mayor Pete's candidacy, but, rather than celebrating the nature of the significance, he was attacked because he is white and male. Garbage.

by Anonymousreply 147December 15, 2019 1:50 PM

They didn’t mind gay white men so much when their cover had the blond dweeb from that stupid 1980s show that degraded Katherine Helmond unforgivably.

by Anonymousreply 148December 15, 2019 6:24 PM

People seem to forget that WHITE GAY MALES were 98% of the Stonewall first night protesters AND the ones who founded GMHC, but I guess that got ERASED by the TRANS!

by Anonymousreply 149December 15, 2019 11:06 PM

The Advocate again delivers on the pressing issues YOU are thinking about with this important commentary: "Is Refusing To Date Trans People Transphobic?" Published 14 December the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen.

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by Anonymousreply 150December 16, 2019 2:06 AM

I don't fuck chicks with dicks, or dudes with vages. I am not attracted to it, and it repulses me. Call me "transphobic," I really couldn't care less.

by Anonymousreply 151December 16, 2019 2:29 AM

R150 game set and match to us

by Anonymousreply 152December 16, 2019 4:59 AM

R150 check out the comments, the article got SLAMMED.

by Anonymousreply 153December 16, 2019 2:07 PM

I will not even dignify their homophobic treason with a click. I hope they get more than just slammed, I hope they are forced to pay reparations to detransitioners.

by Anonymousreply 154December 16, 2019 2:19 PM

It's all trans, all the time,

I wouldn't mind a few stories on trans but literally 90% of each magazine is about trans

by Anonymousreply 155December 16, 2019 3:34 PM

R153 post some, I can't see them

by Anonymousreply 156December 16, 2019 5:32 PM

R150 that is someone's university essay, I bet. It's written that way. And not very complellingly. The writer needs some lessons in logic and statistics. And like all trans articles, it's needling and labelling.

by Anonymousreply 157December 16, 2019 5:34 PM

"All about trans"

And yet the newest articles are about a gay TV host, a gay boy with HIV, a gay rights leader, a bisexual Congresswoman, a lesbian marriage ad, a gay actor/singer....

Don't buy into the hate and fear mongering guys. It's not based in reality. Our real enemies are attempting to divide and conquer..

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by Anonymousreply 158December 16, 2019 5:40 PM

R158 if the trans article posted above is an example of their overall journalism, I don't think any of the rest of it would be worthwhile reading, either.

by Anonymousreply 159December 16, 2019 5:46 PM

OMG. this is hysterical (the content, not the coverage) 😂😂😂

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by Anonymousreply 160December 16, 2019 5:49 PM

How lovely that the trans ruin a gay and Lesbian altarpiece.

by Anonymousreply 161December 16, 2019 7:06 PM

R161 I don't think a trans person even ruined it. It was hypersensitive straight people who are afraid of offending that ruined it.

by Anonymousreply 162December 16, 2019 7:23 PM

The Church of Sweden, lol.

by Anonymousreply 163December 16, 2019 7:31 PM

Their Twitter feed makes Queerty seems like Pulitzer material by comparison.

by Anonymousreply 164December 16, 2019 8:03 PM

Q——ty is proof of how the dumbest gay men manage to be sanctimonious and stupid at the same time. Racism is wrong...now take the blue pill and go back to being a slutty bareback ho.

by Anonymousreply 165December 16, 2019 8:28 PM

R30 agree, it went way too tranny centric

by Anonymousreply 166December 16, 2019 8:31 PM

R91

Yet a substantial number of posts on DL are about "Instahoes", porn stars (dead or alive), "check out "X" (person, body parts, etc...), and or requests of naked, dick or "hole" pictures of clothed models. Oh and the ever present Alam Wernick threads.

Thus obviously we can assume a pretty large subset of any gay demographic is what advertisers, marketers and publications have determined, gay men driven by sex, or at least fantasy of it happening with various models.

by Anonymousreply 167December 18, 2019 9:24 PM

Oh and don't forget the Henry Cavill "tits" obsessed troll or trolls.

by Anonymousreply 168December 18, 2019 9:34 PM

[quote]Thus obviously we can assume a pretty large subset of any gay demographic is... driven by sex, or at least fantasy of it happening with various models.

r168 Just like, you know, virtually every other person on earth living or dead.

by Anonymousreply 169December 19, 2019 12:27 AM

Did they delete all the comments on that article because I see none - there is a facebook form but nothing else...

by Anonymousreply 170December 19, 2019 6:14 AM
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