Posted on 11/16/2009 11:21:49 AM PST by GoldStandard
Gay newspapers in several U.S. cities, including the Washington Blade, shut down on Monday, as the company that owned them, Window Media, abruptly went out of business. Window Media had been in serious financial trouble, but employees said they had expected a reorganization or sale, not a liquidation.
“We found out when two of the corporate officers were waiting for us when we got to work this morning,” said Kevin Naff, editor of the Blade, a 40-year-old paper that was one of the most important publications written for a gay audience. “It’s not a complete surprise. The abruptness of it was what was surprising.”
The paper’s roughly 20 employees “are determined to come back and make of a go of it as an independent entity,” he said. “Our first meeting is tomorrow.”
Employees at Southern Voice, an Atlanta-based gay paper owned by Window Media, found their offices locked on Monday, and a note posted on the door saying that the company had ceased operation. It told the workers to return Wednesday with boxes to collect their belongings.
(Excerpt) Read more at mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com ...
The truth is, the gay newspapers main source of revenue were travel agencies, personal ads, and ads for prostitutes. The internet killed their business model.
They got stiffed and took it in the shorts...
What does one seriously do with ten or twenty newspapers that they don’t need except do the “environmentally unfriendly” thing of throwing them out.
I’m also imagining how many Ditsy Chix tickets ended up in the trash.
That does seem to be the only choice. It also makes you wonder how many papers were actually printed and delivered too.
I think the only way someone would read their paper would be if it was taped to a rest room stall wall. And that’s if they got bored after a few minutes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.