Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-02-22
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Washington Blade closes
News Update, Nov. 16, 2009
by Lisa Keen, Keen News Service
2009-11-11

This article shared 5711 times since Wed Nov 11, 2009
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


By Lisa Keen

Keen News Service

The recorded message on the Washington Blade's phone this week gives no hint at what happened. It still says "thank you for calling the nation's most trusted gay newspaper, serving the community since 1969." But as of Monday, the paper is no more. Its website is down and its employees are without jobs.

Employees at both the Blade and a sister paper in Atlanta, the Southern Voice, found out when they arrived for work Monday morning that their papers were shut down over the weekend and that their parent companies, Window Media and United Media, were filing for bankruptcy.

The Blade staff had just last month celebrated the paper's 40th anniversary. The Southern Voice had been in publication for 21 years.

Many gay news media observers knew the papers were in trouble. The Gay City News broke the news last February that the U.S. Small Business Administration had put the papers into receivership. The problem, according to the SBA, was that Window Media's major stockholder, the Avalon Equity Fund, had failed to maintain a necessary level of private assets to secure a $39 million loan it had taken from the agency.

But many believed someone would step in and buy the Washington Blade —a paper which had been on the cutting edge of reporting the gay civil rights movement in the nation's capital and beyond.

So when word broke Monday morning that the Blade, Southern Voice, and a few smaller publications owned by the companies, were closed for business —permanently and immediately— the news was a shock to most people —including its employees.

Laura Douglas-Brown, longtime editor of the 21-year-old Southern Voice, told reporters she didn't learn the news until she arrived for work Monday and found the locks to the offices had been changed and a note posted on the door saying the paper had been shut down.

The note stated: "It is with GREAT regret that we must inform you that effective immediately, the operations of Window Media, LLC and United Media, LLC have closed down. Please return to this office on WEDNESDAY, November 18th, 2009 at 11:00 AM to collect personal belongs and to receive information on your separation stipulations. Please bring boxes and/or containers that will allow you to collect all your personal belongings at one time. Regretfully, Steve Myers and Mike Kitchens."

Myers and Kitchens were co-presidents of Window Media and could not be reached for comment.

In Washington, D.C., Blade Editor Kevin Naff said two corporate officers greeted staff members at the Blade offices Monday morning, advising them the paper was shutting down immediately and filing for bankruptcy.

The Washington Blade and Southern Voice were the primary papers of Window Media, LLC, a company founded in 1997 by gay activist William Waybourn and Southern Voice editor Chris Crain. In 2001, the company teamed up with Avalon Equity, a capital venture firm run by New Yorker David Unger. Together, they purchased The Washington Blade and its younger sister, The New York Blade." Over the years, Window Media acquired more properties —including the Houston Voice-- and formed an "alliance" with another gay publishing group, Unite Media, and Genre magazine. Together, they billed themselves as the largest LGBT publishing company in the world.

But by August 2008, Avalon and its assets, including Window/Unite Media, was in receivership. Insiders insisted the papers would continue publishing, but soon after news broke —in February 2009-- that the SBA was putting the papers into receivership, the publications began to skid. Genre magazine was the first to suspend operation. That happened in March, with Unger, then chief executive officer of Window Media, saying the magazine was a casualty of the struggling economy. In July, the New York Blade suspended operation.

Small Business Administration spokesperson Mike Kamler said it was not the SBA's decision to shut down the newspapers. In fact, he said, the SBA solicited offers for some potential new owners to take over the Blade and forwarded those offers to Window/Unite.

Nicholas Benton, publisher of a local weekly newspaper in northern Virginia, revealed Tuesday that he had made a bid to take over the Blade and was led to believe in September that he had won that bid. He said he was essentially blind-sided by Monday's news that the paper had closed down for good.

"Everything was in place, although moving slowly, to make the seamless transition we hoped for," said Benton in a press release. "But I remain unaware of what happened, and as a result of Monday's events, the Blade is gone after 40 years of publication, its employees are out of work, and the nation's and region's LGBT community has been stripped of an invaluable institution."

Naff told Los Angeles Frontiers reporter Karen Ocamb that he and others on the staff will meet Tuesday to discuss starting their own "new entity." But Blade publisher Lynn Brown would neither confirm nor deny that plan.

Said Brown: "It's the end of an era."

The Washington Blade had just last month celebrated its 40th anniversary of publishing.

© 2009 Keen News Service

The author was the chief executive editor of The Washington Blade from 1983 to 2001 and its sister paper, the New York Blade News from 1997 to 2001. She was also one of several major stockholders at the time the papers were sold to Window Media in May 2001.


This article shared 5711 times since Wed Nov 11, 2009
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Raoul responds to Archdiocese of Chicago's comments about child sex-abuse report 2023-05-26
--From a press release - Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today released the following statement expressing surprise and dismay at comments made by Cardinal Blase Cupich. In comments to the media, Cardinal Cupich claims to have been unaware of names ...


Gay News

GLAAD ceremony honors celebrities and welcomes TGNC state reps 2023-05-14
- On May 13, GLAAD announced recipients for the final 18 of this year's 33 categories of the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City. Maren Morris accepted GLAAD's Excellence in Media Award, introduced by ...


Gay News

FDA changes 40-year blood donation guidelines to focus on behavior, not orientation or identity; GLAAD responds 2023-05-11
--From a press release - (New York, NY - Thursday, May 11, 2023) GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to news that the FDA will allow more gay and bisexual men ...


Gay News

VIEWPOINT The Panama Papers: Rogue capitalism robs your wallet 2023-04-30
- On April 03, 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists [ICIJ] started publishing almost 12 million files of leaked documents revealing the details of tax havens sheltering more than a ...


Gay News

NLGJA, Curve Foundation announce recipients of inaugural Curve Award for Excellence in Lesbian Coverage 2023-04-27
- WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 27, 2023) — Today, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists and The Curve Foundation announced the recipients of the inaugural Curve Award for Excellence in Lesbian Coverage. ...


Gay News

GLAAD, LGBTQ+ Victory Institute respond to censure threat to Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr 2023-04-27
--From a press release - Washington, DC — GLAAD, the world's leading LGBTQ media advocacy organization, and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute, the only national organization dedicated to elevating openly LGBTQ+ leaders who further equality at all ...


Gay News

Uganda president refuses to sign current anti-LGBTQ+ bill 2023-04-22
- Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has refused to sign into law a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that prescribes the death penalty in some cases, media reports indicated. Museveni's decision was announced late on April 20 after a ...


Gay News

Supreme Court, Biden, Navratilova enter battle over anti-trans laws 2023-04-10
- Transgender athletes saw two significant victories last week: one from the conservative U.S. Supreme Court and the other from the LGBTQ-friendly White House of President Joe Biden. The events triggered a flood of national media attention, ...


Gay News

GLAAD Media Awards held; Christina Aguilera, Bad Bunny, 'Bros' among honorees 2023-04-01
- On March 30 at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, GLAAD announced recipients for 15 of this year's 33 categories for the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, per a press release. Christina Aguilera ...


Gay News

Kentucky legislators override governor's veto to push anti-trans youth bill 2023-03-30
- On March 29, Republican lawmakers in Kentucky overturned Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of a bill to ban transgender youths from gender-affirming healthcare and restrict which toilets they use in public schools, media outlets reported. Both ...


Gay News

Chicago Blackhawks mark Pride Night, with one change 2023-03-29
- The Chicago Blackhawks organization again hosted its annual Pride Night celebration, in partnership with BMO, on March 26, as the team took on the Vancouver Canucks. (The Canucks prevailed 4-2.) As media outlets previously reported, the ...


Gay News

TransLash Media CEO Imara Jones reflects on JK Rowling and 'Hogwarts Legacy' 2023-03-11
- The action role-playing game Hogwarts Legacy has been making big news lately—and it's not just because so many people are playing it. Hogwarts Legacy, inspired by writer J.K. Rowling's wizarding ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Little Richard, Indigo Girls, Rodriguez's honor, dance film, Pedro Pascal 2023-03-10
Video below - Produced by Bungalow Media + Entertainment for CNN Films and HBO Max, in association with Rolling Stone Films, director Lisa Cortes' Sundance opening-night documentary Little Richard: I Am Everything will debut in theaters and on VOD ...


Gay News

WORLD Japanese poll, Sydney Mardi Gras, mpox, rugby study, soccer player 2023-02-19
- Sixty-four percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll believe same-sex marriage should be recognized in Japan, the media outlet noted. In the telephone survey, 88.4% also said recent remarks hostile to LGBTQ+ people by a ...


Gay News

New York Times publishes transphobic column one day after an open letter condemning anti-trans coverage, HRC responds 2023-02-16
--From a press release - WASHINGTON— This morning, the New York Times published yet another opinion piece attacking the transgender and non-binary community. The piece, "In Defense of J.K. Rowling" was written by Pamela Paul and was published merely one day ...


 


Copyright © 2023 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives. Single copies of back issues in print form are
available for $4 per issue, older than one month for $6 if available,
by check to the mailing address listed below.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.
All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transegender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS






Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.