What Does The Demise Of Iconic Local Pubs Frontiers & Next Say About Our Media?

If video killed the radio star, what’s gunning down LGBTQ media? This week, Multimedia Platforms Worldwide, the parent company of such storied local publications as Next, Frontiers, and Florida Agenda, petitioned for bankruptcy after getting spanked by a default lawsuit, leading to the seizure of CEO Bobby Blair’s assets.

While a recent article published by The Advocate claims this is merely  “particular to that company, not symptomatic of LGBT media in general,” that explanation fails to account for the closures of several other queer news outlet in recent months and years. It’s possible the MPW pubs will emerge from bankruptcy (suiters have lined up), but we also can’t ignore challenges facing our media–from the high cost of print distribution the demise of local classified ads to the dispersing of local gay communities and the mainstreaming of our culture. Sometimes these days it seems we are only held together by hookup apps.

Here’s a list of several LGBT sites and publications, both local and national, that have nosed dived this year alone: Trend or aberration? Sound of on your reasons in comments below…

1. AfterEllen.com

Last month, this prominent queer women’s website announced it will be forced to layoff its staff, effectively shutting down the 14 year old news outlet. Editor in Chief Trish Bendix lamented via twitter that Evolve Media, who bought the site from Viacom in 2014, “found we are not as profitable as moms and fashion.”

2. Florida Agenda

Touted as “Florida’s LGBTQ newspaper of record,” the Agenda was the first queer publication owned by  Multimedia Platforms Worldwide, and one of the many casualties of MMPW’s law suit. Its staff was completely gutted last week, leaving the Sunshine State a little dimmer for queer readers.

3. Frontiers Magazine

Southern California’s longest running LGBTQ magazine has suffered its share of financial turmoil over its 35 years of publication. In 2013, the queer news outlet filed for bankruptcy, and was rescued by businessman Michael Turner, who hoped to to expand  its reader base and increase its digital presence. In spite of these aspirations, the Los Angeles-based queer zine continued to struggle, and was sold again in 2015, this time to Blair. Although Frontiers most recent issue has posted online,  printed copies have ceased hitting news stands.

4. Gay.com

Back in August, the quintessential chat room hub of the 90’s was sold by LA-based Here Media to porn purveyor VS Media, who quickly endeavored to usher the site into the 21st century of sexuality. At one time, Gay.com posted great original content, which has been supplanted by links to Here Media publications such as The Advocate and Out. But let’s be honest, no one is logging on into this hook-up site to read articles. And even then, Grindr pretty much renders it obsolete.

5. Next

Founded in 1993 as a much needed mouthpiece for Guiliani-era queer New Yorkers, Next quickly evolved into Gotham’s gay nightlife Bible edited by a series of remarkable journalists, from Queerty’s Derek DeKoff and John Russell to NewNowNext’s Dan Avery (also former managing editor of Queerty). The magazine was yet another entity gobbled up by MMPW last year and suffered the same fate as its siblings, losing its entire staff in recent weeks. Michael Musto was quick to express his love for the dismissed editorial team and pubs. “My deepest regrets over the suspension of publication of Next magazine and Frontiers magazine,” he said. “These have been worthy gay pubs that have connected, entertained, and informed us.”

6. SheWired

Like AfterEllen, this Here Media femme-centric site suffered from the ongoing trend of indifference towards lesbian and bisexual female content. It was folded into the women’s section of Pride.com, once again reducing this section of the LGBT community into a niche demographic, leaving it largely alone in the trusty hands of the fabulous site, Autostraddle.

www.queerty.com/demise-iconic-local-pubs-frontiers-next-say-media-20161017?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

FOX News Anchor Shepard Smith Comes Out of the Glass Closet, Says Roger Ailes Wasn’t Homophobic

FOX News anchor Shepard Smith, who in 2014 denied reports that he was demoted by Roger Ailes for wanting to come out of the closet, acknowledges his sexual orientation publicly for the first time in a Huffington Post interview.

Along with the rampant sexual harassment that brought Ailes down, there were also reports that he used homophobic slurs toward rivals. Though Shep rarely talks about his sexuality, he is regularly, for instance, included in Out Magazine’s Power 50 list.

I asked if Ailes had ever made homophobic remarks when he was around. “No, never. He treated me with respect, just respect,” Shep said. “I wasn’t new in the business when I came here ― I’d been doing reporting for 12 years ― but I wasn’t old in it either, and he gave me every opportunity in the world and he never asked anything of me but that we get it right, try to get it right every day. It was a very warm and loving and comfortable place.”

He said that reports that Ailes had prevented him from coming out publicly several years ago were false. “That’s not true. He was as nice as he could be to me. I loved him like a father,” he said. “I trusted him with my career and with ― I trusted him and trusts were betrayed. People outside this company can’t know [how painful that betrayal was]. This place has its enemies, but inside, it was very personal, and very scarring and horrifying.”

RELATED: Roger Ailes Loves Using the Word ‘Faggot’

While Smith had been in a so-called “glass closet” for some time, Gawker had been trying to help him out of it for years.

When they published the story about Smith and Ailes back in 2014, they denied the story in a statement but did not discuss Shepard’s orientation:

“This story is 100% false and a complete fabrication,” write Ailes and Smith in a joint statement. “As colleagues and close friends at Fox News for 18 years, our relationship has always been rooted in a mutual respect, deep admiration, loyalty, trust, and full support both professionally and personally.”

RELATED: FOX News’ Roger Ailes and Shepard Smith Deny Shep was Demoted for Wanting to Come Out as Gay

Gawker had previously published a story about Smith (and his boyfriend) behaving badly at Chelsea bar Bathtub Gin.

The post FOX News Anchor Shepard Smith Comes Out of the Glass Closet, Says Roger Ailes Wasn’t Homophobic appeared first on Towleroad.

FOX News Anchor Shepard Smith Comes Out of the Glass Closet, Says Roger Ailes Wasn’t Homophobic

Dr. Nathan Warszawski : Rassismus ist auch dann Rassismus, wenn er begründet ist
Während im Sommer 2015 am Münchner Hauptbahnhof Bürger_innen Kuchen und Kuscheltiere an ankommende Geflüchtete verteilten, besann sich der sächsische Mob der neunziger Jahre und machte verbale und körperliche Übergriffe auf Migrant_innen und deren Unterkünfte wieder zur Normalität.

Weiterlesen: Politik, Blogs, Flüchtlinge, Impact, Gay, Rassismus, Kultur, Sachsen, Willkommenskultur, Germany News

www.huffingtonpost.de/nathan-warszawski-/rassismus-deutschland-willkommenskultur-fluechtlinge_b_12514878.html

Human Rights Campaign Releases 5th Annual Municipal Equality Index

Today, HRC Foundation, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute, released its fifth annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law and policy.

The 2016 MEI reveals that cities across the nation are not waiting for their states to extend vital protections to the LGBTQ community, nor are they intimidated by some state elected officials threatening to deny cities the ability to extend fully-inclusive protections to their residents and workers. Instead, municipalities in red states and blue states alike are boldly enacting laws and policies prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing and public accommodations, and working to ensure that everyone is guaranteed the same access to city services.

This year, 60 cities earned perfect scores for advancing fully-inclusive policies and practices — up from 47 in 2015 and 11 in 2012, the first year of the MEI — at a time when the nation has been seeing a record number of anti-LGBTQ measures proposed by state elected officials bent on promoting discrimination. These efforts include legislation like North Carolina’s notorious HB2 that bars cities from passing LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances.

However, in contrast to the shameful action by the North Carolina General Assembly in pre-empting Charlotte’s non-discrimination law, cities across the country are embracing equality by passing comprehensive non-discrimination ordinances, removing harmful exemptions in existing ordinances, and expanding city services to best serve the LGBTQ community.

“This year, dozens of cities across the nation showed they are willing to stand up for LGBTQ people in their communities even when state governments are not,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “This builds on a trend we have long observed: that local governments are at the forefront of our fight for equality. Unfortunately, our opponents have witnessed this progress too, and in recent years, anti-LGBTQ lawmakers have pushed spiteful legislation aimed at pre-empting local protections. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to not only fight for equality at the state and local levels, but to enact comprehensive federal protections for LGBTQ people under the Equality Act.”

“Despite another year of legislative attacks on LGBTQ equality, we are not merely holding our ground; we also continue to make significant gains across the country,” said Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of the Equality Federation Institute. “The opportunity for further progress is huge, and we are proud to partner with HRC on the Municipal Equality Index, a powerful roadmap for elected officials and community advocates who want to continue down the path to full equality.”

Since the MEI’s debut in 2012, the number of cities earning perfect scores has more than quintupled, and today at least 24 million people now live in cities that have more comprehensive, transgender-inclusive non-discrimination laws than their state. And cities that have been rated all five years of the MEI have improved their scores by about 20 points over that time.

Progress on transgender equality has been particularly noteworthy in cities across America this year, continuing a positive trend that the MEI has tracked — and encouraged — since 2012. Transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits are offered to employees of 86 municipalities this year — up from 66 in 2015 and 5 in 2012 — and the growth of cities offering those benefits to their employees outpaces the growth in the number of cities rated. The MEI’s Issue Brief on Transgender-Inclusive Health Benefits is available here.

For the first time this year, the MEI deducted points from the scores of cities that have non-discrimination protections containing carve-outs prohibiting individuals from using public facilities consistent with their gender identity. It also created a new category of points to recognize cities that are offering transgender-specific city services.

Two special reports are also included in the 2016 MEI: Power Struggles and Preemption details efforts by anti-equality officials at the state level to pass discriminatory legislation like North Carolina’s HB2 law that strip municipalities of their ability to protect their residents and workers with non-discrimination measures. Inclusive and Innovative Approaches to Citywide Bullying Prevention lays out the serious public health issue of bullying, how it disproportionately affects LGBTQ youth, and innovative ways municipalities can protect its young people from bullying. The 2018 MEI will change the way it assesses anti-bullying issues, as described in this brief.

Other key findings from the 2016 Municipal Equality Index include:

• 87 cities from states without nondiscrimination laws protecting LGBTQ people scored above the overall nationwide mean of 55 points. These cities averaged 80-point scores; 22 scored a perfect 100.

• Cities continue to excel even in the absence of state laws: 37 “All Star” cities in states lacking comprehensive non-discrimination laws scored above 85 points, up from 31 last year, 15 in 2014, eight in 2013, and just two in 2012.

• The average city score was 55 points. 60 cities, or 12 percent of those rated, scored 100 points; 25 percent scored over 75 points; 25 percent scored under 33 points; and 8 cities scored zero points.

• Cities with a higher proportion of same-sex couples, as tabulated by a UCLA Williams Institute analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census, tended to score better. The presence of openly-LGBTQ city officials was also correlated with higher scores.

The MEI rated 506 cities: the 50 state capitals, the 200 largest cities in the United States, the five largest cities or municipalities in each state, the cities home to the state’s two largest public universities (including undergraduate and graduate enrollment), 75 cities and municipalities that have high proportions of same-sex couples, and 98 cities selected by members and supporters of HRC and Equality Federation state organizations.

The MEI rates cities based on 44 criteria that fall into five broad categories:

1. Non-discrimination laws

2. Municipal employment policies, including transgender-inclusive insurance coverage and non-discrimination requirements for contractors

3. Inclusiveness of city services

4. Law enforcement, including hate crimes reporting

5. Municipal leadership on matters of equality

The full report, including detailed scorecards for every city, as well as a searchable database, is available online at www.hrc.org/mei.

www.hrc.org/blog/human-rights-campaign-releases-5th-annual-municipal-equality-index?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

John Oliver Rips Third Party Candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson to Pieces: WATCH

In a segment about America’s choices for President in 2016, John Oliver examines the third party candidates —James Hedges of the Prohibition Party, Dan Vacek of the Legal Marijuana Now Party, Joe Exotic, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein — focusing on the latter two since they are the “best known of the lesser known.”

Joe Exotic, by the way, is a gay man who claims to run the world’s largest zoo for tigers, and won’t be changing his clothes or getting into a suit once he’s in office.

But what Oliver sees in the leading third party candidates is not good.

Oliver goes after Stein’s “flagship proposal” and her plans to cancel $1.3 million in student debt through a process called quantitative easing, which Stein wrongly claims the president has the authority to implement.

“That is absolutely wrong!”, Oliver cries. “The president does not have that authority, only the Federal Reserve does—and it does not take marching orders from the White House because that would be extremely dangerous. You don’t want to give presidents the power to just create new money whenever they want it.”

Adds Oliver:

“The dangers of that should be pretty obvious. In terms of how fundamentally flawed that is on every level, it’s basically akin to saying ‘I’ll make us energy independent by ordering the post office to invade Canada. No Jill. That’s impractical. It’s a terrible idea. And you don’t seem to understand anything about it.”

Stein also uses “strategic vagueness” on other issues like Brexit (She declared it a “victory” online before completely changing her mind) and vaccines.

Oliver turns to Gary Johnson, pointing out his plans to eliminate the Department of Education, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development without plans on how to continue doing the good things they do. As well as his totally unrealistic plan to cut all taxes.

Says Oliver: “He has been polling around 6 percent nationally—which is pretty remarkable, given that his race has been largely notable for moments like not knowing what Aleppo is, not being able to name a world leader he admires, and whatever it is he’s doing here.”

Finally, Oliver notes that we must ultimately take responsibility for our votes:

“As uncomfortable as this is, everyone has to own the floors of whoever you vote for, whether they are a lying, handsy, narcissistic sociopath, a hawkish, Wall Street-friendly embodiment of everything that some people can’t stand about politics, an ill-tempered mountain molester with a radical, dangerous tax plan that even he can’t defend, or a conspiracy-pandering political neophyte with no clear understanding of how government operates…”

Watch:

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John Oliver Rips Third Party Candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson to Pieces: WATCH

Alyssa Edwards Says Don't Light that Fag

LGBT people smoke in much higher numbers than heterosexuals. Gross, says Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/10/17/alyssa-edwards-says-dont-light-fag

PHOTOS: These Sexy Men Are (Literally!) Trapped Together Inside A Box

Ron Amato is a New York-based photographer. Much of his work centers around issues of male beauty, aging, same-sex attraction, and body image in the gay community. His latest project, “The Box,” explores themes of self-discovery and community building.

Related: PHOTOS: Dusty St. Amand’s Male Nudes May Cause Homoerotic Overload

“Most of my artwork explores issues of sexuality. The enigma of attraction has been an ongoing question,” Amato says. “With ‘The Box’ I was able to explore those themes more deeply, helping me develop a better understanding of myself as a gay man and the larger gay universe.”

Related: PHOTOS: Gentlemen Of A Certain Age Captured Beautifully In These Erotic Nudes

The photographs will eventually be turned into a 96-page, 10-inch square coffee table book. Amato hopes to release the book in early 2017 with the help of a crowdfunding campaign.

Scroll down for a sampling of “The Box” and learn more at the project’s Kickstarter page…

www.queerty.com/photos-sexy-men-literally-trapped-together-inside-box-20161016?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Calls for Cancellation of SNL After Show Hilariously Mocks Second Debate Performance: WATCH

When Donald Trump hosted Saturday Night Live last year he clucked that “part of the reason I’m here is that I know how to take a joke.”

Well, he lied again.

Trump called for the show’s cancellation after being ruthlessly mocked in the show’s cold open again last night, despite the fact that the hilarious regurgitation of events was little embellished.

Trump also claimed that the show is part of the vast media conspiracy to destroy his campaign in a tweet on Sunday morning: “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!”

Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me.Time to retire the boring and unfunny show. Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 16, 2016

Said Baldwin in the sketch:

“Tonight I’m going to do three things: I’m going to huff, I’m going to puff and I’m going to blow this whole thing.”

The sketch also touched on Trump’s racism, his “stalking of Hillary Clinton on the debate stage, his sexual abuse of women and his attempt to turn the tables by bringing in Bill Clinton’s accusers.

“Get real, I’m made of steel, this is nothing,” said McKinnon’s Clinton.

Replied Baldwin’s Trump: “Martha, she is trying to silence these women but they need to be respected, they need their voices heard.”

“What about all the women accusing you of sexual assault?”, asked Cecily Strong’s Martha Raddatz.

“They need to shut the hell up.”

Watch the “second and worst ever” presidential debate:

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Trump Calls for Cancellation of SNL After Show Hilariously Mocks Second Debate Performance: WATCH

Commentary: For Our Communities, HIV Is Too Important to Ignore

Today is National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day, and to mark the occasion, Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC’s senior vice president for research, training and programs, and Brent A. Wilkes, the national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, penned a piece for The Advocate to draw attention to the impact of HIV & AIDS on Latinx communities.

HIV transmission rates are on the rise among Latinx LGBTQ people, they wrote.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinxs accounted for 24 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in 2014 despite comprising only 17 percent of the entire U.S. population. While that number is unacceptably high by any measure, it pales in comparison to the alarming rates of HIV transmission we’re seeing among Latinxs in the LGBTQ community.

Of course, the statistics don’t tell the whole story.

All too often, our organizations encounter people like Alexa Rodriguez, a brave transgender woman who contracted HIV from a partner years after she immigrated to the United States from El Salvador. Or people like Steven Vargas, a LULAC Houston member and long-term survivor who has been living with HIV since 1995. Steven lost both of his parents to AIDS-related complications.
 
Their stories speak to some of the social, legal, and cultural barriers Latinx LGBTQ people face in getting tested or treated for HIV, including language and immigration status. Many undocumented Latinxs, for example, avoid seeking HIV-related services altogether for fear of violence, harassment, and deportation – fears that are only compounded when woven together with homophobia and transphobia.

HRC and LULAC both affirmed the organizations’ commitment to “pushing for a world where all people can lead healthy, meaningful lives regardless of their HIV status.”

Read the full article here.

www.hrc.org/blog/commentary-for-our-communities-hiv-is-too-important-to-ignore?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed