Arts & Entertainment
Karen Ocamb fired for being too old? LGBT activists fire back
Lesbian journalist ‘laid off’ in favor of Millennial content
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Frontiers news editor Karen Ocamb was “laid off” back in February, after serving the LGBT journalism community since 1988, because she was considered too old, a new report suggests.
Bobby Blair, CEO of Multimedia Platforms International which owns Frontiers Magazine, a biweekly print and online magazine, intimated to PressPassQ the decision to fire Ocamb was based on age.
“Unfortunately, Karen fell where we realized we were moving toward a digital and Millennial audience, and we wanted to give the generation of Millennials a real shot at creating our content,” Blair told PressPassQ. “Karen did an incredible job and is very much missed. We would like to use her services in the future from time to time, if she would like to.”
Ocamb, 66, says the shift from print media to online changed the type of reporting she is known for.
“I’m an old-school journalist so it’s odd to have become a story,” Ocamb told PressPassQ. “However, I do recognize that my longevity and my institutional memory suggest that I might bring something unique and valuable to LGBT journalism. Nonetheless, no one is indispensable. I see my being laid off as a purely financial business decision, no matter what direction the new owners may choose.
“I think the kind of in-depth reporting I do changed fundamentally with confessional blogging, citizen journalism and short-attention-span tweeting of the news,” Ocamb continued. “In that glutted context, media outlets — LGBT and straight — are trying to get eyeballs, clicks, buzz in any way they can. I have been encouraged to see some trending back toward long form journalism — but who knows. It’s a rapidly changing media environment.”
LGBTQ Nation spoke to LGBT media figures about the impact of Ocamb’s dismissal who consider the decision ageist.
“It is astonishing to me that a publisher would say they basically fired someone so they could hire a younger person. How can we expect new generations to learn about our past if we do not have seasoned reporters producing content and educating younger LGBTQ people?” Mike Rogers, owner of Raw Story, told LGBTQ Nation.
“It’s very clear that Frontiers will not be the trusted publication we have known for years, and never benefit from Karen’s smarts and archival knowledge. It’s all about trust and expertise – which Karen Ocamb owns in giant measure,” Bob Witeck, president of Witeck Communications told LGBTQ Nation.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
