by Mark Segal
In 1977, Tim Cwiek conducted one of the first interviews in LGBT media with a presidential assistant inside the West Wing of the White House. Tim wrote a sidebar called “Mr. Cwiek Goes to Washington” where he detailed his experience waiting in the West Wing lobby with Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, who was there with Miss America to be photographed with the president. Miss America, being polite, asked Tim what he was doing at the White House. Tim told her that he would be interviewing the president’s assistant about gay rights. Miss America looked nervously to Senator Nunn, bringing a speedy death to that conversation.
I can’t help but get emotional when I think about the beginning of our newspaper. We were in a building with no electricity, no plumbing, and it leaked so badly that we needed a plastic tarp when it rained. Our bathrooms were cans in the basement. At times, the only way we could pay our bills was to use the quarters from our few vending boxes. Don Pignolet, our distribution manager who had many roles at the paper, recalls taking those quarters to the hardware store to buy supplies to shore up the plastic tarp with two-by-fours.
If those issues weren’t enough of a headache, our “neighbors” came in one night and removed the small amount of electric wiring we were able to install. To their chagrin and astonishment, we went out and got a generator and were back up and running in just a few hours. When someone trashed a vending box, Don would have another out in twenty-four hours. We continued repairing the boxes until the people gave up. We would not be defeated. I’m proud of this paper and its staff for believing we could make it.
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Dr. Walter Lear was the main story of our first issue. With that report he became the highest-ranking public official in the country to come out. He was Pennsylvania’s first deputy health commissioner and he came out at a time when some state health boards wouldn’t give licenses to openly gay doctors. Any mainstream newspaper of the day would have loved to run that story, but we got it first.
To keep the ball rolling, in our second issue we went even bigger and featured a groundbreaking interview with the governor of Pennsylvania. Others began to notice, especially the dailies that couldn’t get an interview with the governor no matter how many times their reporters called. We made it a point that if you were running for office, you’d speak to the LGBT community through its media or be held accountable. But we also went further: it was not only speaking to the LGBT community that mattered but keeping the promises of equality.
In 1975, on that trip to Pittsburgh that had sealed the deal to create Philadelphia Gay News, I can honestly say I really didn’t understand what I was signing up for. The last forty years as seen through our pages proves that it is our own media that best chronicles our community. You can find reporting on all the debates within our community and recall the struggles that we’ve long forgotten.
LGBT publications had to battle the mainstream press to be recognized. Moreover, we had to get our community to appreciate that it was not our job to be a mouthpiece for them, but rather to be an independent voice that allowed public discussion in and out of the community. We do share our positions in editorials so the community knows where we stand, but we allow people to voice their differences with us in our letters to the editor and even guest op-ed pieces. That’s a key strength of Philadelphia Gay News: our willingness to invite people to write in our pages when they disagree. I have received plenty of flack for allowing LGBT Republicans and others whose views do not reflect our own to have space in the paper. But their perspective should be heard, since any good story presents various points of view in order to be balanced and complete.
Our news must contain what all professional stories should have, the simple who, what, where, when, why, and how. When there’s a scandal, run to it, not from it. It might sound strange but if you cover a story objectively, even one that the community doesn’t want you to cover, you’ll earn respect. And like all communities, someone always thinks they are above the law, or gets a little greedy. In those cases we need to be the first on the scene to report our own misdeeds.
In the early days, one of our advertising representatives was running an escort business on the side. When I discovered this I explained that he had a choice to make. The paper would not be affiliated with a prostitution service. He chose to keep his escort business and start a competing paper, taking one of my editors with him, but it never gained any traction. The sales rep was a pretty indecent guy; he pimped his lover as part of his escort service. To me this became a comedy that could serve a purpose. Why not have competitors who were inept to bolster our own standing. Needless to say, I found ways to help keep them in business.
The earliest American LGBT publication I know of was from 1937. It was a slick magazine that looked like Life, but only had articles and pictures about men. It had no masthead or any names in it, or even an address. It was more of a fashion magazine. Then, in 1947, a lesbian magazine appeared called Vice Versa, completely written and typed for publication by Lisa Ben. In the 1950s, LGBT organizations such as One Inc., Daughters of Bilitis, and Mattachine were publishing magazines or newsletters of their own, but it wasn’t until 1967 that the first professional newspaper for our community appeared. The Advocate was launched in response to a police raid on the Black Cat, a gay bar in Los Angeles, and is the only national pre-Stonewall news publication that is still in print today. It is an invaluable resource and reference in researching the community’s history.
Local LGBT publications began to flourish in the mid-seventies. Boston’s Gay Community News (GCN), the Washington Blade, the Bay Area Reporter in San Francisco, Pittsburgh Gay News, and Philadelphia Gay News were soon joined by a host of others in almost every major city. In June 1976 we held our first LGBT media conference, organized by GCN, to discuss our mutual concerns and to find ways to work together. Since few of us had the funds to travel to Boston and pay for hotels, GCN stepped in to arrange housing for us. The second meeting was held in Philadelphia. During this period I was elected president of the first LGBT media organization, the Gay Press Association, which was renamed the National Gay Press Association. We soon changed the name again to the National Gay and Lesbian Press Association.
We were officially incorporated in May of 1981. At our convention in Los Angeles in 1984 we received our first city resolution, and there’s one clause that tells volumes about building LGBT media:
Whereas, the Gay Press Association has instituted the International Gay Wire service, an intercontinental computer network which provides instant transmission of information around the world and provides greater access to news and information to its subscribers, be it resolved . . . that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Gay Press Association, member resolution No. 155, dated this 21st day of May, 1984.
Before I received that resolution onstage at the Sheraton Universal in Burbank, I had lunch with a man I had searched for over many years, my cousin Norman. Norman had read about my coming to LA in Frontiers magazine, and called my office. He was living in Long Beach, California, and in order to meet me for lunch I had to send him a check since he had no spare funds. We met in the Sheraton’s dining room. I was eager to see him, so I arrived early. When he showed up, he looked like a haggard old man of seventy, but he was only fifty-three at that time. Wearing a white shirt with some print on it and brown jeans that had seen better days, he was escorted to my table and we just stared at each other. I stood up and hugged him and it seemed like he didn’t want to stop.
At first he was timid, but after ordering lunch he began to tell me the story of his life. As a youth his dad beat him every time he thought Norman was not acting manly enough. When he saw that a sixteen-year-old sissy was developing, he beat him one last time and told him to get out of the house for good. Penniless, Norman took whatever job he could find and was abused and used in every way imaginable. This led to booze and drugs. He even claimed that in a drunken rage while squatting in an old abandoned building he’d tossed a longtime lover out the third-story window
and might have killed him, but he didn’t stick around to find out. He finally made his way to California and was now living on public assistance. He was the only person I’ve ever met who had no joy in life. He had kept in touch with his sister, my aunt, but she couldn’t deal with his needs and issues.
As we finished lunch, I invited him to the auditorium where in true Hollywood fashion I was to be sworn in by the actress Lynn Redgrave as president of the National Gay Press Association. Why Lynn Redgrave? To this day I have no idea. Norman said he wasn’t dressed well enough to attend, but I insisted. After Lynn Redgrave swore me in, I said a few words about our industry, then, looking at Norman in the back, I added, “I have a special guest here with me today, a member of my family who at the age of sixteen had to leave his home because he was gay. Like other gay youth he learned to survive in a cruel world. Please welcome my cousin Norman.”
The audience started to applaud, and then rose to their feet. Norman didn’t know how to react. It was, most likely, the first time in his life that a group of LGBT people had given him sympathy for what he had been through. He stood nervously and took a bow, and just started to cry. When the audience sat down Norman rose, blew me a kiss from the back of the auditorium, and left.
He called a few times after that, always in need of funds. Then one day the calls stopped, and there has been no trace of him since.
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At the 1984 convention, we were looking for ways to get news and information to our readers faster. This was at a time when there was no Internet, and the wire services, Associated Press and United Press International, didn’t carry many LGBT stories. Even if they had, most of us could not afford the monthly fee for their services. Out of necessity we created the first wire news service for the LGBT community; we simply agreed to exchange news stories between us. The reality was that given the limited functionality of the computers of the day, it really didn’t work so well.
Like other publishing organizations, we also shared strategies on building circulation and advertising. Our news coalition began to create a list of freelance writers and stringers. Early members included Phil Nash of Denver’s Out Front, Joe DiSabato, founder of Rivendell Marketing, Morgan Pinney, Pat Burke of Update in San Diego, Sally Tyre of PGN, Chuck Renslow of Chicago’s GayLife, Bob Swinden of Cruise Atlanta, Richard Rogers of This Week in Texas, Mike Rutherford of Out magazine, Don Michaels of the Washington Blade, Bob Ross of San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter, and our vice president Henry McClure from Texas, among others. Like most media and journalism organizations, it was overwhelmingly white and male.
Our first resolution was to request that the National Gay Task Force stop attempting to interfere with the operations of gay media by its “request to editors.” A stronger condemnation of the codirectors of NGTF was tabled, but this resolution made it clear to activist organizations that we were independent and that any attempt to control our news coverage would be dealt with, and transparently.
The most serious member of the group in those early days was Don Michaels, publisher of the Washington Blade. Don always stressed a good business plan and was often heard lending the advice, “Pay your taxes.” Thinking back, it’s amazing how important that statement was and still is. Many a publication went out of business because they didn’t pay their taxes. Don was echoed by Robert Moore of the Dallas Voice, who hosted the next convention, where we shared a hotel with a Bible group and the National Rifle Association. (Our treat on one very hot, humid Texas evening was Robert taking us Eastern city boys to a bar to learn how to line dance.)
Don’s early advice was welcomed at the Philadelphia Gay News. Understanding the playing field and the absolute necessity of learning good business skills to keep the doors of the paper open were paramount. This began my quest to join every professional journalism organization I could. They knew how to make newspapers work and we needed that information. But like the many LGBT lawyers and doctors who tried to join their industry’s associations, Philadelphia Gay News was similarly rebuffed for years.
New publications continued to sprout from LGBT organizations, and were operated by volunteers. I was determined that Philadelphia Gay News would no longer rely on volunteers; everyone was paid something. In addition to being fair, this was also a form of control. We bought used vending boxes from the daily newspapers and charged fifty cents an issue, which we later raised to seventy-five cents. As I’ve said, many of those quarters were taken to restaurants for meals, as well as to the lumber store to buy wood to create a ceiling in our office. Some nights I would even buy my dinner with them. We also learned to pay a decent commission to advertising representatives, our bread and butter as we learned the canons of journalism.
After nine months, Jim decided he’d had enough. Running three newspapers was more work than he’d expected and he had been in the business his entire life. Plus, I was moving way too fast for him. He somehow believed that I’d make it all work so we made an agreement, and with nine months of experience under my belt I became the sole publisher of a newspaper chain that included Philadelphia Gay News, Pittsburgh Gay News, Ohio East Gay News, and eventually Atlanta Gay News.
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My relationship with Phillip had been over for some time now. My friends set me up on blind dates since most of them felt I was not doing anything to improve my own home life; in other words, they thought I needed a partner. One of those men had what I thought was a great sense of humor. We went out once, and while it was fun, I didn’t see it as a lasting relationship. He kept calling until I finally went on a second date with him. I still wasn’t convinced so he kept calling and calling, which led to a third date. Finally, I asked him what he saw in me and he replied, “Your potential to make money and thereby make me happy.” We both laughed, and that was the start of a twenty-year relationship.
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One afternoon, in complete disgust over the Catholic Church’s history of fighting against our issues, I wrote a column called “Shut Up, Pope,” which was prompted by Pope Benedict’s speaking out against condoms in Africa where the AIDS epidemic was out of control. For that piece alone, I won several awards. Writing what you’re passionate about helps generate discussion. You can’t be afraid of debate; just make sure to debate with respect.
There’s a question that pops up in almost every interview I give. It goes something like this: “What is the state of the LGBT press?” Or, “Is the LGBT press having the same issues that mainstream media is dealing with?” And some even ask if LGBT media is dying. From my vantage, sitting on the boards of several mainstream media organizations, it became apparent along the way that many news outlets were spending barrels of money on their new web ventures without an understanding of where the Internet was headed. Thus far, most traditional media haven’t seen a payday and, worse, have needed to cut back on their print editions to pay for their web expenses. It’s not a good move to lose seasoned journalists to pay for your web expansion. Your journalists are bringing you the product that you sell, and the good ones are the reason people buy it. You don’t just sell information; you sell accurate and well-told information, which, for the most part, only seasoned journalists can give you.
Local LGBT publications serve themselves and their communities by sticking with the stories of their individual communities, and owning those stories. For us, national marriage-equality stories take a backseat to local news that we own, meaning you won’t find it anywhere else. Newspapers have to be alive with opinions and information unique to the community they serve, both geographic and cultural. They cannot just be the same thing you find elsewhere else. Local LGBT publications have to be the first place your community looks for details.
The Internet has something that print doesn’t: an instantaneous forum to publish and gather opinion. It satisfies those who need instant gratification and can be extremely inexpensive to run. That last advantage is problematic for the print medium, since it allows for more and more websites and blogs to come online and create
competition for those already serving the community. It is also a vehicle for misinformation, and thus needs to be watched carefully.
New media is something that needs to be embraced. In 1997 my friend Andy Cramer was in search of people who would assist in his dream of a gay online site. It was Gay.com and I was one of its first nine investors/founders.
I still believe that print is light years ahead of the web. In almost every major city, there’s a local LGBT newspaper with numerous full-time staffers and they are excelling at fusing print and the web. There are few, if any, local blogs or websites with full-time employees. Nationally, it’s a different story. Out magazine and the Advocate have both traditional and new media outlets. They are the top websites as far as hits and clicks go, but their print editions are hurting. Queerty and Towleroad have also become popular sites and have full-time staff. Aside from those, you might have a few out there with one or two staffers. Here’s the big problem for websites and blogs: it takes very little capital to start one, but all the new sites are competing for the same audience and advertising dollars.
Publications like ours have had to count on our local advertising for a long time. Relatively recently we’ve seen national ads in local LGBT publications because many companies want to be on the right side of history. As President Barack Obama has stated, LGBT rights are the civil rights of this generation. In some sense, the ads from Ford, GM, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and other mainstream corporations make a statement about how far we have come. Or is it how far those corporations have come?