Arts & Entertainment
LGBTQ publication Gay Star News closes
Founders say the issue ‘has been entirely financial’
U.K.-based LGBTQ publication Gay Star News is closing immediately after running for eight years.
Gay Star News founders Tris Reid-Smith and Scott Nunn announced the news on the website saying that the publication is “now more widely read, watched and loved by the international LGBTI audience than ever” but “our problem has been entirely financial.”
BBC News LGBTQ correspondent Ben Hunte reported that Gay Star News entered insolvency and will cease trading on July 30. The Gay Star News staff of 20 people was only given 48 hours notice that the publication would be shuttering.
BREAKING: LGBT media group Gay Star News (@gaystarnews) will cease trading tomorrow.
— Ben Hunte (@BenInLDN) July 29, 2019
It is entering insolvency resulting in ~20 job losses. Staff were reportedly told 48hrs before pay day via meetings.
Nunn and Reid-Smith blamed their financial woes on companies that they say “rainbow wash” during Pride month instead of supporting LGBTQ interests year-round.
“There has also been another trend which has become more apparent this year. Brands which are wishing to ‘do’ LGBTI work are increasingly doing so in a tokenistic way,” they write. “Rather than working with us to engage and serve LGBTI people year-round, many have chosen to ‘rainbow wash’. They have turned their logo rainbow-colored for Pride week or month and – at best – made a small donation to an LGBTI good cause. Worst still, we have learned that some brands have done this while at the same time funding anti-LGBTI politicians to the tune of millions of dollars. Tokenism has reached a new low.”
The goodbye note concluded, “Until the very end we had good reason to believe we would survive. We have fought through and won through so many times. We were incredibly close. But this one has broken us, and truly broken our hearts.”
Gay Star News launched in 2011. It’s coverage included business, health, international news, politics, pop culture and more.
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.Â
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
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