ADELANTE, based in Los Angeles, entered its 20th year of publication with its June 2016 issue.
CHARLES ALEXANDER, a columnist with Livonia, Mich.-based BETWEEN THE LINES, had his artwork, a show entitled "Good Rainbow Genes: Alexander's Art @ 80," on display at Detroit's venerable Scarab Club.
DBQ, which stands for DAVID BRIDGEFORTH QUARTERLY and is based in New York City, entered its sixth year of publication with its Summer 2016 issue.
THE EMPTY CLOSET, based in Rochester, N.Y., published issue #500 in May 2016.
GED, which stands for GAY ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTORY and is based in Long Beach, Calif., celebrated its third anniversary with its June 15, 2016, issue.
MIKE HALTERMAN, the former editor of Oakland Park, Fla.-based HOTSPOTS MAGAZINE, is now the editor of the new monthly magazine HOTSPOTS CENTRAL, covering Tampa Bay and Orlando. He began his new position on June 10, 2016. The first issue of the new publication is dated July 2016. Previously, the weekly HOTSPOTS covered both South and Central Florida.
MARK A. LEE is the new managing editor of UNITE INDY, based in Indianapolis.
NEXT, based in NEW YORK CITY, entered its 24th year of publication on June 22, 2016.
Q SALT LAKE, based in Utah, celebrated its 12th anniversary with its May 2016 issue.
THE RAGE MONTHLY, based in San Diego, celebrated its ninth anniversary with its June 2016 issue.
RUSHBOX, based in NEW YORK CITY, published its premier issue in April 2016.
THE WORD, based in Indianapolis, entered its 25the year of publication in June 2016.
The combined buying power of the U.S. LGBT adult population for 2015 is estimated at $917 billion. That's according to a new analysis by Washington, D.C.-based Witeck Communications. By way of comparison, the community's 2014 buying power was $884 billion.
Disposable personal income (DPI), according to economists, is the amount of money that individuals have available to spend and save after paying taxes and pension contributions to the government (roughly 86 percent of income).
"LGBT buying power is an economic marker that helps benchmark America's diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities," said Justin Nelson, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) co-founder and president, in a statement. "At NGLCC, we have more than 150 corporate partners that understand not only the value of the LGBT dollar, but the economics of inclusivity and loyalty. Their commitments to our communities prove our NGLCC philosophy that economic visibility, just like social visibility, is essential in building a diverse and inclusive society."
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce seeks to represent the business voice of the LGBT community.
In addition, Witeck emphasized that contemporary market behaviors are favorably shaped by millennials who appear to be the most LGBT-inclusive generation yet. "I call this the PFLAG effect — which helps explain the familiar and loyal experiences of younger non-LGBT people towards their LGBT friends, family members and co-workers. Brands today recognize a growing proportion of younger consumers whose attitudes and buying behaviors are directly shaped by LGBT-friendly policies, campaigns and messages," he said.
For example, in August 2014, according to a Google Consumer Survey, over 45 percent of all consumers under the age of 34 say they're more likely to do repeat business with an LGBT-friendly company. A majority of these consumers — more than 54 percent —also say they would choose an equality-focused brand over a competitor. Keep in mind also that nearly three-fourth of millennials support marriage equality, according to Pew Research.
The methodology for Witeck's analysis is based on an acceptable range of LGBT population estimates, aided by evaluating more than 100 online population samples conducted by the expert Harris Poll over more than a decade, the 2015 estimate reflects roughly six to seven percent of the adult U.S. population as willing to self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (or 16 million-plus adults 18 years of age and older).
Witeck acknowledged that social science approaches tend to assume slightly lower population targets. Nonetheless, demographers also confirm that significant proportions of the LGBT population, particularly bisexual and transgender individuals, still remain resistant to traditional sampling and reporting methods. Fortunately, newer and credible surveys reveal that younger generations are beginning to self-report their sexual orientation and gender identity in higher numbers than earlier.
The general approach used for estimating buying power mirrors the steps applied by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia in its calculation of the purchasing power of other diverse populations, such as Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans. This methodology uses aggregate disposable income data that are compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the U.S. Department of Commerce and are therefore considered the most authoritative measure of purchasing power in the United States. LGBT purchasing power is understood by estimating the proportion of total disposable personal income to the population range of LGBT-self identified adults.
Over 350 journalists, media professionals, and news executives will gather for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's (NLGJA) annual convention from September 8 through 11. This year's event will be at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Miami Beach.
The convention's opening reception will be held on the evening of Thursday, September 8. It will feature Jess Cagle, editor in chief of People Magazine, and Henry Goldblatt, editor in chief of Entertainment Weekly, and Neda Ulaby of NPR.
One of the main plenary sessions will be "The 2016 Elections On the Air: Unlike Any Other," which will feature a discussion about journalism and the election.
Another plenary session will be "Tragedy in Orlando: Making Sense of the Senseless." It will feature a discussion about the shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, and will be moderated by Jeff Truesdell, a member of the NLGJA Board of Directors and a writer at People Magazine.
Other sessions are scheduled to include "Putting the 'Move' in Movement: Life After Marriage" and "Why Celebs Still Need Us".
Some of the other features of the convention include a Women's Networking Dinner, an Author's Cafe that includes a book signing, and opportunities for professional development at the Career and Community Expo.
The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association has announced the recipients of its annual Excellence in Journalism Awards.
This year's Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year Award will go to Lucas Grindley, vice president and editorial director for Here Media.
The NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards were established in 1993 to recognize and reward excellence in journalism on issues related to the LGBT community.
Expanded to 30 awards in 2016, awards will be presented for excellence in Bisexual Coverage, Blogging, Book Writing, Column Writing, Digital Edition, Digital Video, Documentary, Feature Writing, Feature Writing (Non-Daily), Health or Fitness Coverage, HIV/AIDS Coverage, Local Television, Multimedia, Network Television, Newswriting, Newswriting (Non-Daily), Online Journalism, Opinion/Editorial Writing, Photojournalism, Podcasts, Profile Writing, Radio, Social Media, Sports Writing, Student Journalism, Transgender Coverage and Travel Writing in addition to several special recognition awards.
Awards will be presented during NLGJA's annual convention in Miami Beach September 8-11.
The National Gay Media Association (NGMA) has announced the winners of the inaugural Ad POP awards.
The Ad POPs (Pride in Online and Print) reward the best representations of LGBT individuals in online and print advertising in regional LGBT media, according to the group.
Ad POP is a production of the National Gay Media Association, a group of regional LGBT newspaper publishers, located in New York (Gay City News), Washington, D.C. (Washington Blade), Boston (Bay Windows), Philadelphia (Philadelphia Gay News), Detroit (Between the Lines), Chicago (Windy City Times), Dallas (Dallas Voice), Los Angeles (The Pride), San Francisco (Bay Area Reporter), Atlanta (Georgia Voice), Ft. Lauderdale (SFGN) and Orlando (Watermark).
In addition, Ad POP seeks to reward companies that have reached out and included the LGBT community in ads, some of which have done so for the very first time. The following are the NGMA's honorable mentions.
Each member newspaper also bestowed a regional awards in its coverage area. Those winners are below.
Washington, D.C. Winner presented by Washington Blade: Gay Men's Chorus of Washington D.C.
Pink Triangle Press (PTP), Canada's largest publisher of LGBT content, has announced a search for a new executive director. Ken Popert, who has led the organization since 1986, will step down in early 2017. PTP's Board of Directors is leading the search for a new ED.
Popert's involvement with PTP goes back to 1973, when he began contributing to The Body Politic, a self-styled gay liberation journal. He was a member of the collective that ran the magazine until 1986, when he was appointed interim publisher. He has remained at the helm of PTP ever since.
During his time with the organization, PTP has undergone several transformations. It all began when The Body Politic, a radical gay and lesbian magazine with an international readership, was born in Toronto in 1971. It folded in 1987, but PTP lived on through Xtra, a community newspaper that it began to publish in 1984.
Xtra expanded into Vancouver and Ottawa in the 1990s. Its growth was underwritten by Cruiseline, a gay telephone personals service owned and operated by PTP.
In 1998 PTP launched Squirt, an international online dating and hook-up service for gay and bisexual men. Cruiseline was sold in 2011 and in 2015, PTP ended print distribution of Xtra in its three markets, becoming an online journalism enterprise.
For the future, Popert hopes that PTP will continue its commitment to sexual liberation.
Press Pass Q: What part of Qvegas is the most popular?
Publisher Russ White: Over the last few years, we've broken the traditional publishing mold. We don't publish an editorial calendar anymore, and we don't have "parts" or sections anymore. We feature a variety of content that changes each month. This allows us to be more reactive to current trends and issues. Our website now ranks articles by popularity instead of a linear table of contents, so it's quite easy to tell what's doing well.
White: QVegas has gone by many names over the last 38 years. It originated as Vegas Gay Times in 1978, but through the years has been published as Nevada Gay Times, The Bohemian Bugle, The Bugle, but was renamed to QVegas in 2004 by the previous publisher when the magazine transitioned from newsprint to high gloss.
PPQ: What challenge has your publication had to overcome in the last few years?
White: The biggest challenge we've had is advertiser support through our transition to all digital. When we stopped printing, people thought we went out of business. Loyal advertisers dropped us, some even didn't send final payments. Yet, our digital presence skyrocketed. We are the most trafficked LGBTQ website in Las Vegas in both global and U.S. rankings.
PPQ: What challenge is QVegas facing now?
White: We push the technology envelope. We've recently revamped our website to the most modern analytics tracking available. Educating our advertisers on our user behavior and how this differs from other websites and other readers remains a challenge. Once we provide automated reporting, it will be easier for them to understand.
PPQ: How has QVegas changed since it was first launched?
White: In 1978, the publication was bi-fold, plain paper, pasted up from a typewriter. In the '90s, the publication was newsprint with a color cover. In 2004 we became hi-gloss. Today, we are now all digital, available on the web on Gay.Vegas, in your social media, in your inbox, downloadable as a PDF and available for print-on-demand. So many of our readers are viewing us from their mobile device, so having a responsive website is essential. No longer do you have to sneak into an adult bookstore or the back of the local gay bar to pick up a copy.
White: Why just one? We keep changing all the time. Every month we add something new. We continue to innovate. Social media editions, flyby-impressions and engagement analytics, and voyeuristic tweets are just some of the innovations we've introduced in the past two years alone.
White: No. Today, we're much more of a lifestyle and entertainment magazine. We still believe that we have the responsibility to call out actions that conflict with the LGBTQ community, but often times we find ways to resolve or mediate issues behind the scene without aggrandizing the issue. We don't post knee-jerk articles. We've built trust in the community. We've had several instances over the years where readers report issues about negative interactions with local businesses, and we follow through, investigate, and get both sides of the issue.
White: We had a reader come up to us at an event and ask why we never publish any lesbian content. I asked her if she saw our Women's Issue last month. She said no, she hadn't read the magazine in several years.
White: I guess that would depend on where and why. Launching a new national publication comes with huge investment and distribution challenges. You're going to have a harder sell to advertisers. If you're launching a local publication in a market served by any existing publications, you are going to be competing for limited LGBTQ advertising dollars. Ask yourself what existing publications are not providing the community and find out if there's an opportunity for you to work with a publication to make it better for the community. If you feel your publication can co-exist and is better for your community, go for it. If your intentions are mean-spirited or capitalistic because you just want to push the other publication out or make a quick buck on the gay dollar, karma kicks in eventually. Bifurcating the market does no one any good.