Gay media leader The Advocate
will be trimmed down from a standalone magazine to an insert,
insiders report.
The Advocate quickly evolved
from a newsletter titled The Los Angeles Advocate in 1967 to
the nation's only publication dedicated to gay news and politics by
the mid-70s. It remains the only gay glossy available on newsstands
nationwide.
Its former owner, PlanetOut, shored up
the magazine with related businesses, including industry-leading LGBT
websites Gay.com and PlanetOut.com and other gay-oriented
publications such as gay-glam monthly Out.
But one decision, which followed a
receding publishing market, continues to haunt the gay media empire.
In 2006, PlanetOut made the devastating
decision to purchase gay cruise line RSVP. Less than a year later,
the company chalked up its loses and sold RSVP to Atlantis Events,
Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
Yet, the company could not regain its
footing. By 2009, after selling several more properties, PlanetOut
agreed to be bundled into Here Media, Inc. and relinquish control of
the company as it faced possible NASDAQ delisting.
The move gave CEO Paul Colichman a gay
media empire for a song. Colichman controls all-gay cabler here! and
the gay-friendly movie studio Regent Releasing, as well.
But turning around a gay icon amid a
recession that has hit publishers harder than most businesses has
turned out to be easier said than done. Last week, gay blog
Queerty.com
reported the magazine faced another round of staff cuts,
which included managing editor John Jameson, a 15-year veteran.
And The Advocate will be trimmed
down from a standalone magazine to a 32-page insert bundled inside
Out.