New Ownership Brings Changes To Gay Monthly 'Advocate'

BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF

The Advocate's new owners are as eager to change the drapes at American'sonly national LGBT news magazine as President Barack Obama was aboutchanging his at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Here Media has clearly taken over the magazine, its content and direction. And the changes are more than mere window dressing.

Several bloggers last week took exception to the fact that the magazine's website featured a story concerning another Here Media property. The siteheadlined a story about Beau Breedlove's forthcoming big reveal (we'reoptimistic) in an upcoming issue of Unzipped, a gay porn magazine.Breedlove achieved his 15 minutes by having sex with Portland's openly gaymayor, Sam Adams. Adams has been fighting to remain in office sinceadmitting to the affair he originally dismissed as a “nasty smear.”

“A known dude's decision to show his weeny in another gay magazine shouldprobably not be the top story for America's award-winning LGBT newsmagazine,” wrote Jeremy Hooper on the gay activism site goodasyou.org.

Then there was the story of the big Oscar win by Here Media-owned RegentReleasing. The Best Foreign Film win for Departures was mentioned on themagazine's website, but the film, whose protagonist is straight and married,does not deal with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender issues, themagazine's target audience.

Other changes include a move to monthly publication, a new editor and theaddition of here! television video content on the website.

Yet, Regent Media Executive Vice President Stephen Macias recently said Here Media is a mere caretaker of America's most distinct gay voice.

In an exclusive interview with OUTTAKEOnline.com CEO Charlotte Robinson,Macias said: “I think that with The Advocate in particular, myself I seeus as caretakers. Caretakers of the brand and the voice and the platformthat [resulted from] forty-two years of hard work.”

PlanetOut, the parent company of The Advocate, Out, Gay.com and PlanetOut.com, agreed to be acquired late last year after announcing it haslost nearly $100 million and faced possible Nasdaq delisting.

Listen to the entire audio interview at voices.OUTTAKEOnline.com.

Courtesy of On Top Magazine: http://ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=3353&MediaType=1&Category=26.