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The Advocate (magazine)

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This article is about the LGBTQ magazine. For the literary magazine, see The Harvard Advocate. For the Louisiana newspaper, see The Advocate (Louisiana). For other uses, see The Advocate (disambiguation).

The Advocate
The cover of the American LGBTQ-interest magazine The Advocate, No. 994, October 9, 2007; Hillary Clinton is on the cover
The cover of the October 9, 2007 issue of The Advocate
Editorial director, editor in chiefNeal Broverman Desiree Guerrero[1]
CategoriesNewsmagazine
FrequencyBi-monthly
Circulation175,000
Founded1967
CompanyPride Media
CountryUnited States
Based inLos Angeles, California
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.advocate.com
ISSN0001-8996

The Advocate is an American LGBTQ magazine, printed bi-monthly[2] and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender, and queer people (LGBTQ) people. The magazine, established in 1967,[3] is the oldest and largest LGBTQ publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBTQ rights movement. On June 9, 2022, Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC.

History

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Masthead from The Advocate, volume 1, issue 1

The Advocate was first published as a local newsletter by the activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) in Los Angeles. The newsletter was inspired by a police raid on a Los Angeles gay bar, the Black Cat Tavern, on January 1, 1967, and the demonstrations against police brutality in the months following that raid.[4] Richard Mitch (using the pseudonym "Dick Michaels") and Bill Rau (under the name "Bill Rand") joined PRIDE and, along with Aristide Laurent and artist Sam Winston, transformed the newsletter into a newspaper titled The Los Angeles Advocate.[5] The first issue bore a cover date of September 1967, and was sold for 25 cents in gay bars in Los Angeles. By early 1968, PRIDE was struggling to stay viable and Mitch and Rau paid the group one dollar for ownership of the paper in February of that year.[6] In 1969 the newspaper was renamed The Advocate and distributed nationally. By 1974, Mitch and Rau were printing 40,000 copies for each issue.[7]

The newspaper attracted the attention of David B. Goodstein, an investment banker from San Francisco who bought the publication in 1974. Under Goodstein's direction, The Advocate transformed into a bi-weekly national news magazine covering events important to the LGBT community, including the gay rights movement, along with arts and culture. Goodstein also worked toward reducing sex-oriented advertisements in favor of more mainstream sponsors.[8][9]

Goodstein and Rob Eichberg created The Advocate Experience. Loosely based on the then-popular EST (Erhardt Seminars Training), it was a two-weekend, all-day series of extensive self-realization workshops to bring self-acceptance, awareness and tolerance within the LGBT community. Goodstein and Eichberg facilitated the workshops for much of their duration. Goodstein's later editorials strongly opposed state intervention during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. He argued even though "our lifestyle can become an elaborate suicidal ritual... our safety and survival depends on each of us and our individual behaviour", as opposed to government public health regulations.[10]

Soon after Goodstein's death in 1985, the magazine was transformed from a tabloid-size newspaper format in two sections (with the second section carrying sexually explicit advertisements) to a standard magazine format, beginning with the October 1, 1985 issue.[11] Breakthroughs in straight celebrity covers came under the flamboyant command of editor in chief, Richard Rouilard in the 1980s and early 1990s. After his death from AIDS, this editorial trend continued successfully with editor in chief Jeff Yarbrough. It was during this time that the magazine stopped carrying sexually explicit advertisements, and in 1992 it launched a sister publication, Advocate Classifieds. Under the leadership of its first female editor in chief, Judy Wieder, (1996–2002; editorial director, 2002–2006), The Advocate brought in a variety of voices, won numerous mainstream publishing awards, and set records for newsstand sales, circulation, and advertising.[12][13][14][15] Wieder and her staff's coming-out interviews with such diverse gay luminaries as Ellen DeGeneres, George Michael, Liz Smith, Gore Vidal, Chaz Bono, Jim McGreevey, Melissa Etheridge and Rob Halford garnered the magazine much television exposure and helped to lift the status of The Advocate interviews as well as the visibility of the publication.[13][14]

The Advocate changed hands through a series of mergers and acquisitions, first unsuccessfully with PlanetOut in 2006, and later with Here Media. In a cost-cutting move in 2008, Here Media, conceding that The Advocate print edition could no longer compete with local weekly LGBT newspapers and the Internet for hard news, switched the magazine from a bi-weekly to a monthly publication cycle.[16] Starting in 2010, Here Media consolidated the distribution for The Advocate and Out magazines. The Advocate print version continues to be published and is available enclosed with Out as a combination package via subscription. In 2010 there were press reports of freelance writers not being paid for their work.[17] As of May 2013, The Advocate is no longer produced in-house at Here Media but by Grand Editorial for Here Media. Grand Editorial is a contractor based in Brooklyn, New York City that also produces Out.[18] The Advocate is now published bi-monthly with six issues per year.[18]

In 2017, Here Media sold its magazine operations to a group led by Oreva Capital, who renamed the parent company Pride Media.[19]

Zach Stafford served as the editor in chief in 2019, the first Black person to hold that role in the magazine's 50+ year history.[20] In February 2020, Tracy E. Gilchrist was named editor in chief of The Advocate brand. Neal Broverman was named editor in chief of Advocate.com.[1][21] Diane Anderson-Minshall will continue in the role of Global Chief Content Creator and President.[22]

On June 9, 2022, after OUT acquisition, Mark Berryhill was named CEO of equalpride. Joe Lovejoy is CFO and Mike Kelley is President of Global Growth and Development.[citation needed] Neal Broverman was named editorial director of equalpride and Desiree Guerrero serves as editor in chief of The Advocate, while Alex Cooper serves as editor in chief of advocate.com.[23]

Comics

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The Advocate provided a venue for several noteworthy LGBT cartoonists in the 1970s and 1980s. Early in its history, the publication ran single-panel gag cartoons by Joe Johnson featuring effeminate Miss Thing and beefy Big Dick,[24] and "Gayer Than Strange" by Sean. After these were discontinued, It's a Gay Life by Donelan debuted in 1977 and ran for 15 years.[24] Howard Cruse's strip Wendel appeared from 1983 to 1989, transitioning from a single tabloid-size page to two magazine-size pages when the publication changed format. Leonard and Larry by Tim Barela[24][25] and Servants to the Cause by Alison Bechdel also appeared briefly during the late 1980s.

Podcast

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The Advocate produces a podcast called LGBTQ&A, created and hosted by Jeffrey Masters. The LGBTQ&A podcast features interviews with notable LGBTQ figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Laverne Cox, Lili Reinhart, Roxane Gay and Trixie Mattel.[26][27] The series features a range of LGBTQ guests including activists, politicians, and members of the entertainment industry.[28][29][30]

Awards and accolades

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In January 2014 The Huffington Post cited three Advocate covers in its feature, "23 Magazine Covers That Got It Right When Depicting Powerful Women": February 2011 (featuring Hillary Clinton), February 2012 (Nancy Pelosi) and January 2013 (Tammy Baldwin, .com edition).[31] The Advocate won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage in 2020.[32] In 2021, it won the GLAAD Media Award in the Outstanding Online Journalism Article category for the article "Gay Men Speak Out After Being Turned Away from Donating Blood During Coronavirus Pandemic: 'We are Turning Away Perfectly Healthy Donors'".[33]

GLAAD Award nominations (2014)
  • Outstanding Magazine Article: "What's Wrong With Exxon?" by Antonia Juhasz (The Advocate)[34]
  • Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage (The Advocate)[34]
  • Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: "Prime Timers: Spotlight on LGBT Seniors" (series) (Advocate.com)[34]
  • Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: "We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda" by Sunnivie Brydum, D. David Robinson (Advocate.com)[34]

Notable past and present contributors

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Pride Media Announces New Leadership for The Advocate, Out". advocate.com. February 28, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  2. ^ Bell, Lauren (August 26, 2008). "The Advocate, under new ownership, cuts frequency". Direct Marketing News. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  3. ^ Sandra L. Caron (February 2008). "An investigation of content and media images in gay men's magazines". Journal of Homosexuality. 55 (3): 504–523. doi:10.1080/00918360802345297. PMID 19042283. S2CID 205468927. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  4. ^ Highleyman, Liz. "What Is the History of The Advocate?". Past Out. Letters From CAMP Rehoboth. Archived from the original on May 3, 2007.
  5. ^ Hogan, Steve & Hudson, Lee (1998). Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia. New York: Henry Holt. p. 13. ISBN 0-8050-3629-6.
  6. ^ Tobin, Kay & Wicker, Randy (1972). The Gay Crusaders. New York: Paperback Library. p. 80. OCLC 1922404.
  7. ^ GPA Consulting (September 2014). SurveyLA: LGBT historic context statement (PDF) (Report). City of Los Angeles, Department of City Planning, Office of Historic Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  8. ^ Campbell, John (2015). "Gay and lesbian/queer markets/marketing". In Cook, Daniel; Ryan, Michael (eds.). The Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of consumption and consumer studies (first ed.). John Wiley & Sons Ltd. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1002/9781118989463.wbeccs128. ISBN 9781118989463.
  9. ^ Highleyman, Liz (September 28, 2007). "What is the history of The Advocate?". Vol. 35, no. 39. Seattle Gay News. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  10. ^ Goodstein, David (March 18, 1982). "Editorial". The Advocate. p. 6.
  11. ^ The Advocate. October 1, 1985. Front Cover.[permanent dead link‍]
  12. ^ Heching, Dan (June 28, 2016). "It was "The New York Times of homosexuality"". Out. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Wieder, Judy (December 6, 2016). "The not-so-sudden death of The Advocate". Huffpost. Retrieved November 4, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Bendix, Trish (January 25, 2019). "Does LGBT media have a future?". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  15. ^ Haninia, Joseph (October 29, 1995). "Closeted no longer: Magazines: Increasing ad revenues, mainstream media interest and attractive demographics have made an increasingly diverse gay press a vibrant market". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  16. ^ Moses, Lucia (December 19, 2008). "The Advocate to Go Monthly". Adweek. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  17. ^ Fleischer, Matthew (July 13, 2010). "'The Advocate' Does Not Pay Its Freelancers". FishbowlLA. Archived from the original on September 20, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  18. ^ a b "The Advocate's Matthew Breen Headed to Brooklyn". MediaBistro.org. FishbowlNY. May 6, 2013. Archived from the original on January 12, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  19. ^ "Publisher of High Times acquires LGBT publications". Reuters. September 7, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  20. ^ "The Advocate names first black editor-in-chief in its 50-year history". NBC News. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  21. ^ Tracy E. Gilchrist [@TracyEGilchrist] (September 28, 2020). "My friends have accused me of burying this lead. My co-editor in chief, @DMArtavia, is now EIC of Out magazine. Many congrats to David! That makes me the EIC of The Advocate. I am honored to carry the legacy of this publication forward & to continue to amplify LGBTQ+ voices" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Mark Berryhill; Michael Kelley (September 1, 2022). "Out Magazine Is Now Part of an LGBTQ+ Company; Meet the Owners". Out. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  23. ^ Adweek.com Media
  24. ^ a b c Theophano, Teresa. "Comic Strips and Cartoons" (PDF). GLBTQ Archive. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  25. ^ "Leonard & Larry". Gay Comics List. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  26. ^ Bromwich, Jonah Engel (May 26, 2017). "Stuck in Memorial Day Traffic? Here Are 15 Podcasts to Distract You". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  27. ^ Steinbach 6/14/2018, Jesse. "Meet the Logo30: Jeffrey Masters". LOGO News. Retrieved September 29, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "Lili Reinhart Reveals Why She Waited to Come Out as Bisexual". www.out.com. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  29. ^ "Lili Reinhart Reveals Why She Waited Until AFTER Her Cole Sprouse Breakup To Come Out As Bisexual!". Perez Hilton. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  30. ^ "How Gay Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Met Husband on Hinge and Had 'Ridiculous' First Date". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  31. ^ Vagianos, Alanna (January 27, 2014). "23 Magazine Covers That Got It Right When Depicting Powerful Women". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  32. ^ "UPDATING: Award Recipients at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD. July 30, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  33. ^ "Disclosure, Schitt's Creek, Sam Smith, Happiest Season, I May Destroy You, CHIKA, Veneno, Star Trek: Discovery, The Boys in the Band, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo among award recipients at the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards". GLAAD. April 8, 2021. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  34. ^ a b c d "GLAAD Media Awards Nominees (2014)". GLAAD. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2021.

Further reading

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