Atwood boycotts book fest over gay censorship

By The Associated Press
02.20.2009

(Dubai) Author Margaret Atwood has pulled out of an international Dubai literary festival after organizers banned a forthcoming novel by a British author because it contains references to homosexuality.

In a letter addressed to the festival’s director, Atwood said she could not attend Dubai’s inaugural International Festival of Literature next week because of the “regrettable turn of events surrounding” the book “The Gulf Between Us.”

Atwood was referring a novel by British author Geraldine Bedell who said the festival banned it because of references to homosexuality. The book, set in the Persian Gulf, is scheduled to be published in April.

“I was greatly looking forward to the Festival, and to the chance to meet readers there; but, as an International Vice President of PEN - an organization concerned with the censorship of writers - I cannot be part of the Festival this year,” Atwood said in the letter, posted on her Web site.

Festival director Isobel Abulhoul described Atwood’s decision not to attend the Feb. 26 to March 1 festival as “regrettable.”

The festival has not given a specific reason for why it banned Bedell’s forthcoming book. But Abulhoul said decisions can be driven in many cases by “simple attendance imperatives.”

“I would hope that anyone informed and interested in the differing cultures around the world would both understand and respect the path we tread in setting up the first festival of this nature in the Middle East,” she said in a letter posted on the festival’s Web site late Wednesday.

Dubai has struggled over the past year to merge its glitzy international appeal with its conservative Muslim values. The UAE has also come under intense pressure this week after it barred an Israeli women’s tennis player from a lucrative Dubai tournament. On Thursday, it announced that an Israeli men’s doubles player would be allowed entry into the country to play in next week’s men’s tournament.

Other well-known authors such as Frank McCourt, Louis de Bernieres and Jung Chang are also scheduled to attend the Dubai festival.

On Monday, Bedell, a journalist for the British Observer newspaper and the author of several novels, said the organizers had first discussed launching her book at the festival because of its Gulf setting. But later, Abulhoul wrote to Penguin, saying Dubai didn’t want the “festival remembered for the launch of a controversial book,” Bedell said.

According to Bedell, who lived in Bahrain for five years in the 1980s, the book was not acceptable because one characters, Sheikh Rashid, is assumed to be gay. Homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates.

The author also said festival organizers complained that “it talks about Islam and queries what is said.”

Courtesy of 365Gay.com: http://www.365gay.com/news/atwood-boycotts-book-fest-over-gay-censorship/.

Gay Ad Network Sets New Traffic RecordsExtends Top Ranking in Gay/Lesbian CategoryMarketWire

NEW YORK, NY - Gay Ad Network, the category leading gay media network, today announced that its group of gay and lesbian web sites set new traffic records in December. comScore Media Metrix reports that in December, Gay Ad Network's US reach surpassed 1.18 million unique users, which is greater than the unduplicated reach of PlanetOut, Gay.com, Logo Online and Regent Media sites combined. Moreover, Quantcast tracked 4.2 million unique monthly users worldwide on Gay Ad Network sites during this period.

Traffic trend analysis shows that the gay and lesbian online audience is shifting away from gay portals to niche LGBT sites and mainstream social networking services. The current audience metrics and redistribution are helping Gay Ad Network expand its category leadership.

"Marketers are discovering that LGBT consumers are resilient and focused online -- one of the bright spots in a weak economy," said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, a leading LGBT marketing company. "In research we conducted last year, we saw that gay men in particular are less likely than others to cut back on their discretionary spending. And while not more affluent than others, gay households often are healthy indicators of smart shopping and spending."

Gay Ad Network's recession-resistant audience boasts a high disposable income and tremendous purchasing power. Compared to all other sites in the Gay and Lesbian community category in December 2008, comScore reports that Gay Ad Network reached more people with household income over $100,000 and more households without children.

New advertisers include Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Showtime, Florida Keys, Air New Zealand and MGM Mirage.

Gay Ad Network is one of the first of the now 150+ networks created on Adify. Adify is the pioneer and leading provider of technology to power vertical networks, outsourced services to manage them, and expertise to guide customers to success.

About Gay Ad Network

Gay Ad Network (http://www.gayadnetwork.com) is the category leading gay media network, reaching over 4 million unique users per month. Gay Ad Network is a division of Family Powered Networks LLC, a privately held company that provides advertising and marketing services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender publishers and companies targeting the LGBT market.

About Adify
Adify Corporation (www.adify.com) is the premier vertical ad network management company and an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Cox TMI Inc., part of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, one of the nation's leading media companies and providers of automotive services.

© MarketWire 2009URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28861090/

Regent Media Assumes Majority Interest in PlanetOut

Regent Entertainment Media, publishers of The Advocate and Out magazines and owner of the here! TV network announced Thursday that it has signed a merger agreement with PlanetOut Inc. The combined company will be known as Here Media Inc, 80% of which will be owned by the owners of Regent Entertainment Media.

In addition owning here! TV, The Advocate, and Out, Regent Entertainment Media also publishes HIV Plus magazine and Alyson Books. Its online presence includes Advocate.com, Out.com, HIVPlusMag.com, OutTraveler.com, and SheWired.com. PlanetOut runs two of the longest-established gay sites on the Web, PlanetOut.com and Gay.com.

“This business combination will unite a powerful broadband video solution with an iconic brand and a leading URL in the LGBT community,” said Paul Colichman, CEO of Regent Entertainment Media. “We are extremely excited about the opportunity to leverage this exceptional collection of assets to expand our audience, grow our revenues, and increase stockholder value.” (Advocate.com)

Courtesy of The Advocate.com: http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid70389.asp.

Besen: The future of gay news media

By Wayne Besen, columnist, 365gay.com
02.18.2009 3:08pm EST

In one of the most important articles of the year, Walter Isaacson wrote in Time Magazine about the shredding of the newspaper business. With free content available online, people are dropping daily subscriptions and newsstand sales are declining. The only way for newspapers to remain profitable is through advertising revenue in the print and online editions.

The problem with this business model, however, is that it leaves newsrooms beholden to advertising interests instead of readers. And, if the economy goes into a tailspin, precipitous drops in advertising can quickly lead to ruin. Isaacson says the way to save the news business is to move to a paradigm where newspapers go completely digital and readers pay directly for online content. For example, a web surfer who wants to read an individual story online can pay a nickel – or pay a larger fee for a weekly e-subscription.

The main obstacle is creating technology that makes reading e-news as pleasurable as the newspaper experience. Within a few years, however, new technology will make this possible, with several products scheduled to hit the market.

If mainstream newspapers are having a difficult time, it should be no surprise that gay and lesbian publications are disappearing faster than a rabbit at a magic show. There is a long list of venerable GLBT publications that have recently vanished.

Earlier this month, Gay City News reported, “the investment fund that owns the Washington Blade, the Southern Voice, Genre magazine, and other gay publications has been forced into receivership by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), which will sell the fund’s assets and distribute the proceeds to investors.”

When the technology reaches fruition, the GLBT media should embrace Isaacson’s model. The gay community’s top reporters do a superior job covering the news and offer in-depth analysis that can’t be duplicated. I am willing to bet that people will pay for such content.The question is, will the publications themselves actually survive or will the GLBT media become a collection of enterprising freelance reporters who sell by the story? While most items would not bring a large bounty, there would likely be a couple of breaking stories that would pay the bills. For example, a blockbuster story with 250,000 downloads at a nickel per purchase would yield $12,500.

Of course, new technology would also have to make it more difficult to cut and paste more than one paragraph per story. And, much like cameras that take pictures of those that run red lights, an electronic surveillance system that imposed small penalties – perhaps a dollar per infraction - would have to be developed. There would always be ways to get around the system. But, one would hope that enough people would have the decency to pay for good reporting to make it work.

GLBT bloggers should also welcome changes where they would actually get paid for their labor. It is disgraceful that some of our leading lights are posting during lunch breaks at their day jobs. Given their influence and size of their audiences, it is absurd that they have not reaped enough wealth to blog full-time.

Fans may balk, but they must realize they are also getting shortchanged. Imagine how much better most blogs would be if the writers had another 8-10 hours a day to conduct research? The products would be infinitely superior and be of greater value. Ultimately, the axiom, “you get what you pay for” rings true.

People must also realize that the status quo will soon lead to burnout among the best bloggers. Without a financial incentive commensurate with their work, don’t be surprised when your favorite bloggers choose relationships over readership. If you don’t pay, many will fade away – which would be a great loss to the GLBT community.

In order for this business model to work, the leading bloggers, gossip sites and journalists will have to create a new type of union – where they jump off the cliff all at once. There would also be an initial loss of readers, but who cares? The writer would still make more money by retaining a subset of paying readers. And, many of the dissenters would come back when they realized the true value of a product they once viewed as their birthright.

On a similar note, the continued improvement of E-book technology may save the GLBT publishing industry. On March 29, the legendary Oscar Wilde bookstore will close in Greenwich Village, citing economic trouble. This follows the demise of the famed bookstore Crossroads Market in Dallas.With few venues to sell books and fewer publishers, it is a tough time for gay authors. While the major retailers have GLBT sections, rarely do these books receive prime shelf space. E-books may be a way to cut out the middleman, save on printing costs and let gay authors sell directly to the reading public. Best of all, no more hand cramps from book signings!

The article in Time Magazine showed that the very concept of a magazine was a relic beyond its time. In the end, the tumultuous changes forced by the recession may be what resuscitates and revolutionizes the GLBT publishing industry.

Courtesy of 365Gay.com: http://www.365gay.com/opinion/besen-the-future-of-gay-news-media/.