The “Washington Blade” and “Southern Voice” shut their doors.
The LGBT media was dealt a hard blow this week when it was announced that Window Media—a conglomerate that owns LGBT newspapers including the Washington Blade, the South Florida Blade and Southern Voice—had filed for bankruptcy on Monday, Nov. 16. The decision came as a shock to both readers and staff of the highly-regarded publications.
Perhaps the greatest loss to our community is the closure of the Washington Blade, the publishing company’s oldest newspaper, which, at 33,000 readers, had the second largest circulation of any gay newspaper nationwide.
The Blade was founded by editor Nancy Tucker, who mimeographed and distributed the paper herself in the early years of its publication. In 2001 the Blade was bought by Window Media, where it continued to flourish. While once an underground publication, Blade reporters have held a front row seat at several White House press conferences. In its tenure, the paper covered everything from the AIDS crisis to Matthew Sheppard’s murder. Last month the newspaper celebrated its 40th anniversary.
The Atlanta-based Southern Voice also closed its doors this week. Considered one of the top five LGBT news sources, it had been in print for over 20 years. Upon arrival at work on Monday, Southern Voice employees were asked to pack up their personal belongings. In an interview with CNN, employee Laura Douglas-Brown said that, “we knew that finances were tight, but none of us were expecting this today.”
The Washington Post reports that the staff of the Washington Blade is planning to regroup and start a paper under a different name—a paper that will be employee-owned.