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Washington Blade

January 01, 1970

"Los Angeles Blade" redirects here. For the roller hockey team, see Los Angeles Blades.

The Washington Blade is an LGBT newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the Philadelphia Gay News and the Gay City News of New York City.[2][3] The Blade is often referred to as America's gay newspaper of record because it chronicled LGBT news locally, nationally, and internationally.[4][5][6] The New York Times said the Blade is considered "one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience."[7]

Washington Blade
TypeWeekly LGBT newspaper
FormatTabloid
PublisherLynne Brown
EditorKevin Naff
Founded1969
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Circulation20,326 (as of 2019)[1]
ISSN0278-9892
Websitewashingtonblade.com

The paper was originally launched as an independent publication in October 1969 with a focus on bringing the community together. In 2001, the Blade was purchased by Window Media LLC,[2] a group of gay-oriented newspapers circulated throughout the United States[8] with a staff composed of professional journalists, becoming a leading source of news for the readers both in Washington and around the nation.[9] The paper publishes weekly on Fridays[10] and celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2019.[11]

In November 2009, the Blade and several related publications, including the Southern Voice, were shut down after Window Media announced it was closing business.[2][12] After Blade staff members were told they no longer had jobs, plans were made for a new gay publication entitled DC Agenda, since the trademark for Washington Blade was still held by the now-defunct Window Media.[12][13][14]

It was announced on April 27, 2010, that the DC Agenda would rename itself to the Washington Blade. The ownership group of the Agenda consisted of many former staff members of the Blade, who purchased the trademark and paper archives out of bankruptcy court. The first issue of the newly independent Blade debuted on April 30, 2010.[15]

History edit

 
The premier October 1969 issue of the "Gay Blade" consisted of one single-sided page.

Origins to 1973 edit

The Washington Blade, originally called The Gay Blade, published its first issue on October 5, 1969.[16] Taking its roots from the Mattachine Society of Washington's newsletter in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Blade was conceived as a way to fill in a perceived gap in the organization of social communications within the gay community of Washington, D.C.[17] It was created by Nancy Tucker and Lilli Vincenz.[18] The Blade was originally published as a single page and distributed hand-to-hand in a variety of gay bars throughout the city. Afraid of a backlash over the publication, many of the initial authors of writings in the Blade used pen names during the early years of publishing.[19] The initial publications were entirely created by volunteers from the community with two editors, Nancy Tucker and Bart Wenger, at the helm.[17] Wenger stated the initial goals of the publication were to "...engender a sense of community" and that it was "very important for gays to become acquainted with one another."[11] Published monthly from 1969 to 1973, the newspaper evolved from its original size and shape of a single letter sized paper sheet. In June 1972, the Gay Blade published its first multi-page edition which consisted of four pages and in April 1973, the paper expanded to eight pages and was printed on legal sized paper sheets, stapled in the middle and folded.[20] As the looks of the paper evolved, so did the news coverage. The Gay Blade began to focus less on being a newsletter used to organize the community and more of a newspaper for the community.[11]

 
Collage of historical covers of the Washington Blade showing the evolution of the size, format, and publication name from its early years to the present. (From bottom to top: the December 1977 cover of 'The Blade,' the April 1973 cover of 'The Gay Blade,' the cover of the 1993 March on Washington Special Edition of the 'Washington Blade,' the April 23, 1993 cover of the 'Washington Blade,' the June 27, 2003 cover of the 'Washington Blade,' and the September 1974 cover of 'The Gay Blade.')

1974 to 1982 edit

In July 1974, the first newsprint edition was published and signaled an evolution in the history of the Gay Blade.[20] A fifth anniversary edition of the paper was not published in October 1974 because of a lack of revenue and interest, marking the only time the paper failed to publish an edition in its history.[20] The new focus on being a newspaper allowed the publication's circulation to grow in 1974 and 1975 from five hundred copies distributed at less than a dozen sites to over 4,000 copies available at thirty-five locations throughout the city.[20] The June 1975 edition of the Blade dropped the word 'Gay' from the title of the publication after it was discovered that a newspaper in New York City held the rights to the name Gay Blade.[11] The new name of the publication was now The Blade. It continued to be published on newsprint paper and had no additional format changes until near the end of the decade. Incorporating as a non-profit corporation under the title of "Blade Communications, Inc." in November 1975, the paper continued its growth.[20] Don Michaels, an important voice on the pages of the publication, was named the editor of the paper in January 1978. Michaels began strict enforcement of a policy that prohibited pen names from being used in bylines.[20] By November 1978, the Blade was regularly featuring color printing on its pages and beginning in 1979, the Blade changed into a bi-weekly publication. Starting in October 1980, the name of the publication changed to The Washington Blade and the corporation re-incorporated as a for-profit, employee-owned business.[20] In July 1981, the Blade ran a front-page story entitled "Rare, Fatal Pneumonia Hits Gay Men," making the paper one of the first gay newspapers in the country to write about the disease that has come to be known as AIDS.[20] In November 1981, Don Michaels got promoted to the position of publisher, a position he would hold for over two decades.[20]

1983 to 2000 edit

The Blade started publishing weekly in January 1983 and coverage shifted to the AIDS crisis and news about this newly emerging disease. The ever-breaking news caused the paper to remain in a heightened state of coverage and nearly exhausted the papers resources with members of the community having to step in to support the work of the Blade. The reporting of the AIDS crisis from this timeframe allowed the newspaper to come of age to the mature and professionally driven publication seen today.[11][19][dead link] In June 1988, the editors of the paper used a computer to layout the paper for the first time.[20] The 1990s saw increases in readership and circulation of the Washington Blade. In April 1993, during the 1993 Gay March on Washington, the paper published its largest edition to date consisting of 216 pages.[20] The paper expanded into new markets and mediums with the 1995 launch of the online version of the Blade, followed two years later with the launching of a sister publication in New York, called the New York Blade.[20] In the later part of the century, coverage was expanded to include local and national news, as well as international news of interest to the LGBT community.[11] Some authors implemented the use of humor in addressing potentially sensitive subjects, such as N. Leigh Dunlap in her long-running comic strip Morgan Calabrese.[21]

2001 to 2010 edit

On May 25, 2001, the print edition announced the sale of the Washington Blade to Window Media, LLC, a group of gay publications. With the new ownership came several changes to standardize the paper with other Window Media publications, such as the return of editorials to the publication after being missing for several decades.[8] Shortly after the sale of the paper, staff at the Blade sought a vote to unionize with the help of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. The Guild and the staff of the Blade brought a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and deliberated for a few weeks over this issue resulting in a ten to eight vote against unionization on July 20, 2001.[22]

Beginning in 2005, the Washington Blade also ran a free news clipping service called the BladeWire. This service collected news stories of interest to the LGBT community from a variety of local, state, regional, national, and selected international media sources. The service was generated by the Blades editors and was published on the internet. A feature of the BladeWire also allowed it to be syndicated onto other websites using JavaScript.

During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Senator John McCain's decision to participate in a written interview with the Blade marked the first time a Republican presidential nominee agreed to be interviewed by a gay publication.[23][24]

On November 16, 2009, the paper was abruptly shut down because of the financial status of its parent company, Window Media, and its majority shareholder, Avalon Equity Partners.[25][26] Employees at the Blade were aware of Window Media's financial troubles, but the timing and total closure of the publication came as a shock to the entire staff. Kevin Naff, editor of the Blade, said employees "found out when two of the corporate officers were waiting for us when we got to work this morning".[27] Since the Blade had been a profitable newspaper, and because the debt-ridden Window Media was no longer draining the publication's finances, the same day the Blade shut down, Naff told the Washington City Paper he and the remaining staffers "We're all together. Our first meeting for our new venture is tomorrow morning."[13] Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said the Blade had been a "weekly must-read", and pledged support for a new publication to serve Washington's LGBT community.

On November 20, 2009, a new venture, supported entirely by volunteering staff (who consisted of the majority of the Blade's editorial staff, as well as a few others, at the time of its closing), launched with its first issue. Called DC Agenda, no relation to the non-profit organization of the same name, the new venture released the same week as the closing of the Blade. From the placeholder website SaveTheBlade.com:

While we cannot save the name we can certainly save all that was the essence and spirit of our LGBTQ Community's newspaper of record. The staff of the paper remains united and our mission to enlighten and inform remains steadfast. We will launch a new publication that will bring you what we have always worked to deliver - gay news and information that is critical to our Metro DC LGBTQ Community.[28]

Issues were handed out at Washington, D.C., Metro train stations, and an online copy was available at www.washingtonblade.com.[29]

On February 25, 2010, DC Agenda acquired the assets of the Washington Blade from the US Bankruptcy Court. Included were the archives, name, trademarks, website, and fixtures from the Washington Blade offices. About a month later on April 26, 2010, the DC Agenda publisher announced that the Washington Blade name would return to the masthead of the paper with the DC Agenda becoming the name of the arts and entertainment section.[30]

On March 24, 2017, the paper launched a version in Los Angeles, called the Los Angeles Blade.[31]

Circulation and demographics edit

The Washington Blade was published weekly on Fridays with a circulation of 33,874 printed copies of each edition.[10] News coverage focuses mainly on global and regional political issues concerning LGBT persons with additional coverage of entertainment and nightlife in the Washington, D.C. area. The masthead of the printed paper includes the slogan "The gay and lesbian weekly of the national capital area since 1969" and the online masthead proclaims "All the news for your life. And your style."[32] Distribution of the Blade includes locations throughout the Washington, D.C. area. Additional distribution points are located in Maryland, Virginia, and as far away as Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The newspaper is primarily distributed through free-standing newspaper boxes on street corners, newspaper racks at Metro stations, and in shops and restaurants.[33] The main competition to the Washington Blade in Washington, D.C. is the weekly newsmagazine, Metro Weekly, and nationally the Bay Area Reporter of San Francisco. For a brief period starting in 1979, the Blade also had competition from Blacklight, the city's first African-American gay monthly periodical.[11] Archives of the Washington Blade were maintained at their Washington, D.C. offices and on Microfilm at the Microfilm Reading Room of the Library of Congress, and in the Alternative & Underground Press Collections of ProQuest (formerly called UMI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[32] The newspaper is a member of the National Newspaper Association, the National Gay Newspaper Guild, and the Associated Press.[32]

According to a survey conducted by Simmons Market Research in April 2000 for the Washington Blade, the median age of their readership was forty-one and 85% of their readers were between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four years old. 92% of the readership is employed with 70% of the readers in professional and managerial jobs. The median income of readers was $57,200 per year, with median household income at $84,000. Overall, 79% of the Blade's readership holds a college degree with 42% of the readers holding postgraduate degrees.[33]

Awards edit

A series of articles from March 1985 and continuing for five months entitled "When Pretending Stops," written by Lisa Keen, won local acclaim and awards for the coverage of the slow death of local lawyer Ray Engebretsen. This series of articles chronicled the impact of AIDS in the gay community and was ground-breaking coverage in Washington.[11] In 1995, the Washington Blade won a Silver Gavel award from the American Bar Association for a four-part series of articles entitled "Legal Challenges to Anti-Gay Initiatives" which explored the legal consequences of anti-gay ballot initiatives and the constitutional challenges to them.[34] In 2007, the paper won four Dateline Awards for Excellence in Local Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists Washington, D.C., Pro Chapter.[35]

Criticism and controversy edit

 
Washington Blade dispenser at Huntington metro station

Publication of the paper has not been without controversy over the years. The news coverage from the early years to the mid-1980s was perceived by some as being "white-washed" for its lack of coverage of the gay African-American population located in Washington, D.C., a city where more than 70 percent of its residents were African-American. This led to the creation of the short-lived publication Blacklight, the city's first African-American gay monthly periodical in August 1979, which attempted to compete with the Blade.[11] Coverage of the City Council special election in April 1991 garnered intensive criticism of biased coverage and led to calls for reforming the paper's editorial board.[11] In 1993, the Blade and its publishing company threatened to sue the Fairfax County Library over a potential ban on the distribution of the Blade at its branches.[36] Also, the 2001 sale of the Washington Blade to Window Media, LLC led to intense criticism from former employees, editors, and media pundits of the consolidation of so many gay newspapers' editorial boards into the same company, leading to fears of homogenizing of content and editorial control.[19] A former staff writer has also accused the paper of playing politics through the mandated use of the capitalized version of the word 'Gay' in order to make a political statement.[37]

The newspaper has been accused from time-to-time of forcing public figures out of the closet. This policy of 'outing' individuals surfaced in 1996 during the debate over the Defense of Marriage Act, when the Blade and The Advocate were going to out Congressmen Jim Kolbe and Mark Foley. Neither publication did out either politician, and both publications later denied ever intending to out the Congressmen.[38] In recent years, these accusations have resurfaced as Kevin Naff, current editor of the Blade, has accused The Washington Post of 'straight-washing' stories about LGBT individuals. Naff wrote that "When someone is described as 'flamboyant,' 'eccentric' or 'a lifelong bachelor,' we know what's being implied... Readers of the Washington Post had better hone their gaydar skills, because in story after story, the newsgathering behemoth either ignores questions of sexual orientation or employs endless winks and nods to convey what would be better spelled out."[39] When asked why identifying and outing of individuals by publications like the Blade, staff writer Greg Marzullo wrote "Why do [we] insist on mentioning someone's sexual orientation at all? Because we're a queer paper."[40] As reported in the Washington Post, former editor Chris Crain summarized the Blade's editorial reasoning for the 'outings' by stating that "It is 2004, not 1954, and sexual orientation in and of itself is no longer a 'private fact' beyond the pale of inquiry." The Blade, he wrote, "would investigate and report about whether influential Hill aides are gay if facts about their sexual orientation raise highly newsworthy questions of hypocrisy in the stands taken by anti-gay members of Congress for whom they work."[41] A former staff writer of the Washington Blade has noted objections to this perceived campaign to label individuals by their sexual orientations and has used a blog to register these objections.[37]

In July 2005, Jeff Gannon began writing editorials for the paper. His pieces included criticism of gay blogger John Aravosis, who had helped uncover Gannon's pornographic ads.[4] Editor Chris Crain attracted his own criticism from many in the gay community for this decision, due to Gannon's history of anti-gay reporting as well as Gannon's refusal to disclose his sexual orientation. He has said, "My personal life is a private matter, despite the fact that I have become a public person." Crain defended his decision in a September 2005 editorial[42] and claimed the "steady stream of feedback/vitriol" had declined "a little" with each new Gannon article.

References edit

  1. ^ "District of Columbia Newspaper Circulation" (PDF). ANR. (PDF) from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c . Agence France-Presse. news.smh.com.au. November 16, 2009. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  3. ^ (PDF). TunnelVision (5). Vanderbilt University Alumni Association: 5. Spring 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  4. ^ a b Burnett, Richard (2006-10-28). "Double-edged Blade". Article. Fugues.com. from the original on 2007-05-03. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  5. ^ Bugg, Sean (2002-04-18). "Hard News". Article. Metro Weekly. from the original on 2003-04-19. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  6. ^ Segraves, Mark (November 16, 2009). "Longtime gay publication shutting its doors". WTOP-FM. wtop.com. from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  7. ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (November 17, 2009). "Washington Blade Newspaper Closes Down". The New York Times. pp. B4. from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  8. ^ a b "BladeRunners". Article. Washington City Paper. 2002-04-12. Retrieved 2007-02-21. [dead link]
  9. ^ Wolf, Buck (2006-07-14). "No Privacy for Lance Bass at Gay Bar". Article. ABC News. from the original on 2007-03-09. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  10. ^ a b . Data Table. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j (PDF). Article. The Rainbow History Project. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-06. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  12. ^ a b Schwartzman, Paul (November 16, 2009). "Washington Blade to close". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  13. ^ a b Wemple, Erik (November 16, 2009). "Blade Staff to Launch New Publication". Washington City Paper. washingtoncitypaper.com. from the original on November 19, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  14. ^ Hess, Amanda (November 16, 2009). "The Final Hours of the Washington Blade". Washington City Paper. washingtoncitypaper.com. from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  15. ^ Zak, Dan (April 27, 2010). "D.C. Agenda sets a memorable date: The return of the Washington Blade". The Washington Post. pp. C1.[dead link]
  16. ^ . List. Progressive Review. Archived from the original on 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  17. ^ a b . Assembled Memories. 2006-12-03. Archived from the original (Essay) on February 13, 2008. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  18. ^ Lou Chibbaro Jr. (2013-07-30). "Library of Congress acquires papers of Lilli Vincenz". Washington Blade. from the original on 2013-08-02. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  19. ^ a b c "D.C.'s landmark gay and lesbian weekly lands on the cutting edge of media conglomeration". Article. Washington City Paper. 2001-04-01. Retrieved 2007-02-21. [dead link]
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Anderton, Bryan (2004-09-10). (PDF). Washington Blade. p. 74. Archived from the original (Article) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  21. ^ Dunlap, N. Leigh (1985–1995). "Morgan Calabrese". Washington Blade.
  22. ^ (PDF). The Guild Reporter. 68 (6). The Newspaper Guild and The Communications Workers of America: 5. 2001-06-15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-11-29. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  23. ^ Wildman, Sarah (November 2009). . The Advocate. advocate.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  24. ^ Kapfer, William R. (October 1, 2008). . Washington Blade. logcabin.org. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  25. ^ Swartz, Kristi E.; Stafford, Leon (November 16, 2009). "Southern Voice, longtime gay and lesbian newspaper, shuts down". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ajc.com. from the original on November 17, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  26. ^ Turner, Dorie (November 16, 2009). "Nation's largest gay newspaper publisher closes". news.yahoo.com. Associated Press. Retrieved November 16, 2009. [dead link]
  27. ^ Perez-Pena, Richard (November 16, 2009). "Washington Blade and Several Other Gay Newspapers Go Out of Business". The New York Times. from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  28. ^ Archived from the original on 2009-11-20. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  29. ^ Special Reportsby Chris Johnson. "Washington Blade - America's Leading Gay News Source - the gay community's news source : Washington Blade – America's Leading Gay News Source". Dcagenda.com. from the original on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  30. ^ Zak, Dan (2010-04-27). "Gay weekly D.C. Agenda sets a memorable date: The return of The Washington Blade". The Washington Post. from the original on 2017-06-22. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  31. ^ "Washington Blade to launch newspaper in Los Angeles". Washington Blade. 10 March 2017. from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  32. ^ a b c . Image. Washington Blade. 2006-11-24. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  33. ^ a b . Article. Washington Blade. 2007. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  34. ^ . American Bar Association. Archived from the original (Data Table) on February 15, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  35. ^ . Society of Professional Journalists. Archived from the original (DOC) on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-13.
  36. ^ Sorensen, Mark (Summer 1996). . Article. 78 (3). Illinois Libraries: 120–123. Archived from the original on 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  37. ^ a b Graham, Trey (2007-02-01). "Gay critic critiques gay paper ('cause of gay actor)". Blog. from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  38. ^ "The Ethics of Outing Gay Politicians". Article. PBS Frontline/WGHB Educational Foundation. 2006-11-14. from the original on 2007-03-07. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  39. ^ Naff, Kevin (2006-02-10). . Editorial. Washington Blade. Archived from the original on June 19, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  40. ^ Marzullo, Greg (2007-02-05). . Blog. Washington Blade. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  41. ^ Dana, Rebecca; Vargas, Jose Antonio (2004-07-15). "Capitol Hill Insiders Irked By Campaign To 'Out' Them". Article. The Washington Post. pp. C01. from the original on 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  42. ^ Crain, Chris (2005-09-23). . Editorial. Washington Blade. Archived from the original on June 27, 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-07.

External links edit

  • DC Agenda The website for the new publication DC Agenda that was created by former Blade staff
  • Save The Blade A temporary website utilized immediately after the Blade closed
  • The Cutting Edge: A History of the Washington Blade, Metropolitan Washington DC's GLBT Newspaper of Record, via The Rainbow History Project
  • , by The Rainbow History Project

January 01, 1970
washington, blade, angeles, blade, redirects, here, roller, hockey, team, angeles, blades, lgbt, newspaper, washington, metropolitan, area, blade, oldest, lgbt, newspaper, united, states, third, largest, circulation, behind, philadelphia, news, city, news, yor. Los Angeles Blade redirects here For the roller hockey team see Los Angeles Blades The Washington Blade is an LGBT newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area The Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation behind the Philadelphia Gay News and the Gay City News of New York City 2 3 The Blade is often referred to as America s gay newspaper of record because it chronicled LGBT news locally nationally and internationally 4 5 6 The New York Times said the Blade is considered one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience 7 Washington BladeTypeWeekly LGBT newspaperFormatTabloidPublisherLynne BrownEditorKevin NaffFounded1969HeadquartersWashington D C United StatesCirculation20 326 as of 2019 1 ISSN0278 9892Websitewashingtonblade com The paper was originally launched as an independent publication in October 1969 with a focus on bringing the community together In 2001 the Blade was purchased by Window Media LLC 2 a group of gay oriented newspapers circulated throughout the United States 8 with a staff composed of professional journalists becoming a leading source of news for the readers both in Washington and around the nation 9 The paper publishes weekly on Fridays 10 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2019 11 In November 2009 the Blade and several related publications including the Southern Voice were shut down after Window Media announced it was closing business 2 12 After Blade staff members were told they no longer had jobs plans were made for a new gay publication entitled DC Agenda since the trademark for Washington Blade was still held by the now defunct Window Media 12 13 14 It was announced on April 27 2010 that the DC Agenda would rename itself to the Washington Blade The ownership group of the Agenda consisted of many former staff members of the Blade who purchased the trademark and paper archives out of bankruptcy court The first issue of the newly independent Blade debuted on April 30 2010 15 Contents 1 History 1 1 Origins to 1973 1 2 1974 to 1982 1 3 1983 to 2000 1 4 2001 to 2010 2 Circulation and demographics 3 Awards 4 Criticism and controversy 5 References 6 External linksHistory edit nbsp The premier October 1969 issue of the Gay Blade consisted of one single sided page Origins to 1973 edit The Washington Blade originally called The Gay Blade published its first issue on October 5 1969 16 Taking its roots from the Mattachine Society of Washington s newsletter in the late 1950s and early 1960s the Blade was conceived as a way to fill in a perceived gap in the organization of social communications within the gay community of Washington D C 17 It was created by Nancy Tucker and Lilli Vincenz 18 The Blade was originally published as a single page and distributed hand to hand in a variety of gay bars throughout the city Afraid of a backlash over the publication many of the initial authors of writings in the Blade used pen names during the early years of publishing 19 The initial publications were entirely created by volunteers from the community with two editors Nancy Tucker and Bart Wenger at the helm 17 Wenger stated the initial goals of the publication were to engender a sense of community and that it was very important for gays to become acquainted with one another 11 Published monthly from 1969 to 1973 the newspaper evolved from its original size and shape of a single letter sized paper sheet In June 1972 the Gay Blade published its first multi page edition which consisted of four pages and in April 1973 the paper expanded to eight pages and was printed on legal sized paper sheets stapled in the middle and folded 20 As the looks of the paper evolved so did the news coverage The Gay Blade began to focus less on being a newsletter used to organize the community and more of a newspaper for the community 11 nbsp Collage of historical covers of the Washington Blade showing the evolution of the size format and publication name from its early years to the present From bottom to top the December 1977 cover of The Blade the April 1973 cover of The Gay Blade the cover of the 1993 March on Washington Special Edition of the Washington Blade the April 23 1993 cover of the Washington Blade the June 27 2003 cover of the Washington Blade and the September 1974 cover of The Gay Blade 1974 to 1982 edit In July 1974 the first newsprint edition was published and signaled an evolution in the history of the Gay Blade 20 A fifth anniversary edition of the paper was not published in October 1974 because of a lack of revenue and interest marking the only time the paper failed to publish an edition in its history 20 The new focus on being a newspaper allowed the publication s circulation to grow in 1974 and 1975 from five hundred copies distributed at less than a dozen sites to over 4 000 copies available at thirty five locations throughout the city 20 The June 1975 edition of the Blade dropped the word Gay from the title of the publication after it was discovered that a newspaper in New York City held the rights to the name Gay Blade 11 The new name of the publication was now The Blade It continued to be published on newsprint paper and had no additional format changes until near the end of the decade Incorporating as a non profit corporation under the title of Blade Communications Inc in November 1975 the paper continued its growth 20 Don Michaels an important voice on the pages of the publication was named the editor of the paper in January 1978 Michaels began strict enforcement of a policy that prohibited pen names from being used in bylines 20 By November 1978 the Blade was regularly featuring color printing on its pages and beginning in 1979 the Blade changed into a bi weekly publication Starting in October 1980 the name of the publication changed to The Washington Blade and the corporation re incorporated as a for profit employee owned business 20 In July 1981 the Blade ran a front page story entitled Rare Fatal Pneumonia Hits Gay Men making the paper one of the first gay newspapers in the country to write about the disease that has come to be known as AIDS 20 In November 1981 Don Michaels got promoted to the position of publisher a position he would hold for over two decades 20 1983 to 2000 edit The Blade started publishing weekly in January 1983 and coverage shifted to the AIDS crisis and news about this newly emerging disease The ever breaking news caused the paper to remain in a heightened state of coverage and nearly exhausted the papers resources with members of the community having to step in to support the work of the Blade The reporting of the AIDS crisis from this timeframe allowed the newspaper to come of age to the mature and professionally driven publication seen today 11 19 dead link In June 1988 the editors of the paper used a computer to layout the paper for the first time 20 The 1990s saw increases in readership and circulation of the Washington Blade In April 1993 during the 1993 Gay March on Washington the paper published its largest edition to date consisting of 216 pages 20 The paper expanded into new markets and mediums with the 1995 launch of the online version of the Blade followed two years later with the launching of a sister publication in New York called the New York Blade 20 In the later part of the century coverage was expanded to include local and national news as well as international news of interest to the LGBT community 11 Some authors implemented the use of humor in addressing potentially sensitive subjects such as N Leigh Dunlap in her long running comic strip Morgan Calabrese 21 2001 to 2010 edit On May 25 2001 the print edition announced the sale of the Washington Blade to Window Media LLC a group of gay publications With the new ownership came several changes to standardize the paper with other Window Media publications such as the return of editorials to the publication after being missing for several decades 8 Shortly after the sale of the paper staff at the Blade sought a vote to unionize with the help of the Washington Baltimore Newspaper Guild The Guild and the staff of the Blade brought a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board and deliberated for a few weeks over this issue resulting in a ten to eight vote against unionization on July 20 2001 22 Beginning in 2005 the Washington Blade also ran a free news clipping service called the BladeWire This service collected news stories of interest to the LGBT community from a variety of local state regional national and selected international media sources The service was generated by the Blades editors and was published on the internet A feature of the BladeWire also allowed it to be syndicated onto other websites using JavaScript During the 2008 U S presidential election Senator John McCain s decision to participate in a written interview with the Blade marked the first time a Republican presidential nominee agreed to be interviewed by a gay publication 23 24 On November 16 2009 the paper was abruptly shut down because of the financial status of its parent company Window Media and its majority shareholder Avalon Equity Partners 25 26 Employees at the Blade were aware of Window Media s financial troubles but the timing and total closure of the publication came as a shock to the entire staff Kevin Naff editor of the Blade said employees found out when two of the corporate officers were waiting for us when we got to work this morning 27 Since the Blade had been a profitable newspaper and because the debt ridden Window Media was no longer draining the publication s finances the same day the Blade shut down Naff told the Washington City Paper he and the remaining staffers We re all together Our first meeting for our new venture is tomorrow morning 13 Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said the Blade had been a weekly must read and pledged support for a new publication to serve Washington s LGBT community On November 20 2009 a new venture supported entirely by volunteering staff who consisted of the majority of the Blade s editorial staff as well as a few others at the time of its closing launched with its first issue Called DC Agenda no relation to the non profit organization of the same name the new venture released the same week as the closing of the Blade From the placeholder website SaveTheBlade com While we cannot save the name we can certainly save all that was the essence and spirit of our LGBTQ Community s newspaper of record The staff of the paper remains united and our mission to enlighten and inform remains steadfast We will launch a new publication that will bring you what we have always worked to deliver gay news and information that is critical to our Metro DC LGBTQ Community 28 Issues were handed out at Washington D C Metro train stations and an online copy was available at www washingtonblade com 29 On February 25 2010 DC Agenda acquired the assets of the Washington Blade from the US Bankruptcy Court Included were the archives name trademarks website and fixtures from the Washington Blade offices About a month later on April 26 2010 the DC Agenda publisher announced that the Washington Blade name would return to the masthead of the paper with the DC Agenda becoming the name of the arts and entertainment section 30 On March 24 2017 the paper launched a version in Los Angeles called the Los Angeles Blade 31 Circulation and demographics editThe Washington Blade was published weekly on Fridays with a circulation of 33 874 printed copies of each edition 10 News coverage focuses mainly on global and regional political issues concerning LGBT persons with additional coverage of entertainment and nightlife in the Washington D C area The masthead of the printed paper includes the slogan The gay and lesbian weekly of the national capital area since 1969 and the online masthead proclaims All the news for your life And your style 32 Distribution of the Blade includes locations throughout the Washington D C area Additional distribution points are located in Maryland Virginia and as far away as Rehoboth Beach Delaware The newspaper is primarily distributed through free standing newspaper boxes on street corners newspaper racks at Metro stations and in shops and restaurants 33 The main competition to the Washington Blade in Washington D C is the weekly newsmagazine Metro Weekly and nationally the Bay Area Reporter of San Francisco For a brief period starting in 1979 the Blade also had competition from Blacklight the city s first African American gay monthly periodical 11 Archives of the Washington Blade were maintained at their Washington D C offices and on Microfilm at the Microfilm Reading Room of the Library of Congress and in the Alternative amp Underground Press Collections of ProQuest formerly called UMI in Ann Arbor Michigan 32 The newspaper is a member of the National Newspaper Association the National Gay Newspaper Guild and the Associated Press 32 According to a survey conducted by Simmons Market Research in April 2000 for the Washington Blade the median age of their readership was forty one and 85 of their readers were between the ages of twenty five and fifty four years old 92 of the readership is employed with 70 of the readers in professional and managerial jobs The median income of readers was 57 200 per year with median household income at 84 000 Overall 79 of the Blade s readership holds a college degree with 42 of the readers holding postgraduate degrees 33 Awards editA series of articles from March 1985 and continuing for five months entitled When Pretending Stops written by Lisa Keen won local acclaim and awards for the coverage of the slow death of local lawyer Ray Engebretsen This series of articles chronicled the impact of AIDS in the gay community and was ground breaking coverage in Washington 11 In 1995 the Washington Blade won a Silver Gavel award from the American Bar Association for a four part series of articles entitled Legal Challenges to Anti Gay Initiatives which explored the legal consequences of anti gay ballot initiatives and the constitutional challenges to them 34 In 2007 the paper won four Dateline Awards for Excellence in Local Journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists Washington D C Pro Chapter 35 Criticism and controversy edit nbsp Washington Blade dispenser at Huntington metro station Publication of the paper has not been without controversy over the years The news coverage from the early years to the mid 1980s was perceived by some as being white washed for its lack of coverage of the gay African American population located in Washington D C a city where more than 70 percent of its residents were African American This led to the creation of the short lived publication Blacklight the city s first African American gay monthly periodical in August 1979 which attempted to compete with the Blade 11 Coverage of the City Council special election in April 1991 garnered intensive criticism of biased coverage and led to calls for reforming the paper s editorial board 11 In 1993 the Blade and its publishing company threatened to sue the Fairfax County Library over a potential ban on the distribution of the Blade at its branches 36 Also the 2001 sale of the Washington Blade to Window Media LLC led to intense criticism from former employees editors and media pundits of the consolidation of so many gay newspapers editorial boards into the same company leading to fears of homogenizing of content and editorial control 19 A former staff writer has also accused the paper of playing politics through the mandated use of the capitalized version of the word Gay in order to make a political statement 37 The newspaper has been accused from time to time of forcing public figures out of the closet This policy of outing individuals surfaced in 1996 during the debate over the Defense of Marriage Act when the Blade and The Advocate were going to out Congressmen Jim Kolbe and Mark Foley Neither publication did out either politician and both publications later denied ever intending to out the Congressmen 38 In recent years these accusations have resurfaced as Kevin Naff current editor of the Blade has accused The Washington Post of straight washing stories about LGBT individuals Naff wrote that When someone is described as flamboyant eccentric or a lifelong bachelor we know what s being implied Readers of the Washington Post had better hone their gaydar skills because in story after story the newsgathering behemoth either ignores questions of sexual orientation or employs endless winks and nods to convey what would be better spelled out 39 When asked why identifying and outing of individuals by publications like the Blade staff writer Greg Marzullo wrote Why do we insist on mentioning someone s sexual orientation at all Because we re a queer paper 40 As reported in the Washington Post former editor Chris Crain summarized the Blade s editorial reasoning for the outings by stating that It is 2004 not 1954 and sexual orientation in and of itself is no longer a private fact beyond the pale of inquiry The Blade he wrote would investigate and report about whether influential Hill aides are gay if facts about their sexual orientation raise highly newsworthy questions of hypocrisy in the stands taken by anti gay members of Congress for whom they work 41 A former staff writer of the Washington Blade has noted objections to this perceived campaign to label individuals by their sexual orientations and has used a blog to register these objections 37 In July 2005 Jeff Gannon began writing editorials for the paper His pieces included criticism of gay blogger John Aravosis who had helped uncover Gannon s pornographic ads 4 Editor Chris Crain attracted his own criticism from many in the gay community for this decision due to Gannon s history of anti gay reporting as well as Gannon s refusal to disclose his sexual orientation He has said My personal life is a private matter despite the fact that I have become a public person Crain defended his decision in a September 2005 editorial 42 and claimed the steady stream of feedback vitriol had declined a little with each new Gannon article References edit District of Columbia Newspaper Circulation PDF ANR Archived PDF from the original on October 20 2019 Retrieved February 27 2020 a b c Oldest US newspaper for gays and lesbians shutting down Agence France Presse news smh com au November 16 2009 Archived from the original on August 20 2012 Retrieved November 16 2009 Distant Voices Alumni Updates PDF TunnelVision 5 Vanderbilt University Alumni Association 5 Spring 2006 Archived from the original PDF on 2008 07 04 Retrieved 2007 02 21 a b Burnett Richard 2006 10 28 Double edged Blade Article Fugues com Archived from the original on 2007 05 03 Retrieved 2007 02 21 Bugg Sean 2002 04 18 Hard News Article Metro Weekly Archived from the original on 2003 04 19 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Segraves Mark November 16 2009 Longtime gay publication shutting its doors WTOP FM wtop com Archived from the original on June 11 2011 Retrieved November 16 2009 Perez Pena Richard November 17 2009 Washington Blade Newspaper Closes Down The New York Times pp B4 Archived from the original on July 31 2012 Retrieved November 17 2009 a b BladeRunners Article Washington City Paper 2002 04 12 Retrieved 2007 02 21 dead link Wolf Buck 2006 07 14 No Privacy for Lance Bass at Gay Bar Article ABC News Archived from the original on 2007 03 09 Retrieved 2007 02 21 a b Verified Audit Circulation Data Table 2006 Archived from the original on 2008 02 16 Retrieved 2007 02 21 a b c d e f g h i j Newspaper of Record 35 Years of the Washington Blade PDF Article The Rainbow History Project Archived from the original PDF on 2009 02 06 Retrieved 2007 02 21 a b Schwartzman Paul November 16 2009 Washington Blade to close The Washington Post washingtonpost com Archived from the original on November 11 2012 Retrieved November 16 2009 a b Wemple Erik November 16 2009 Blade Staff to Launch New Publication Washington City Paper washingtoncitypaper com Archived from the original on November 19 2009 Retrieved November 16 2009 Hess Amanda November 16 2009 The Final Hours of the Washington Blade Washington City Paper washingtoncitypaper com Archived from the original on November 18 2009 Retrieved November 16 2009 Zak Dan April 27 2010 D C Agenda sets a memorable date The return of the Washington Blade The Washington Post pp C1 dead link DC Almanac List Progressive Review Archived from the original on 2007 02 28 Retrieved 2007 02 21 a b Community Pioneers Assembled Memories 2006 12 03 Archived from the original Essay on February 13 2008 Retrieved 2007 02 21 Lou Chibbaro Jr 2013 07 30 Library of Congress acquires papers of Lilli Vincenz Washington Blade Archived from the original on 2013 08 02 Retrieved 2013 03 28 a b c D C s landmark gay and lesbian weekly lands on the cutting edge of media conglomeration Article Washington City Paper 2001 04 01 Retrieved 2007 02 21 dead link a b c d e f g h i j k l Anderton Bryan 2004 09 10 35 Years of History PDF Washington Blade p 74 Archived from the original Article on September 30 2007 Retrieved 2007 03 05 Dunlap N Leigh 1985 1995 Morgan Calabrese Washington Blade Blade employees battle for union recognition PDF The Guild Reporter 68 6 The Newspaper Guild and The Communications Workers of America 5 2001 06 15 Archived from the original PDF on 2006 11 29 Retrieved 2007 02 21 Wildman Sarah November 2009 Capital Gains The Advocate advocate com Archived from the original on November 20 2009 Retrieved November 16 2009 Kapfer William R October 1 2008 McCain s gay Q amp A Washington Blade logcabin org Archived from the original on October 8 2008 Retrieved November 16 2009 Swartz Kristi E Stafford Leon November 16 2009 Southern Voice longtime gay and lesbian newspaper shuts down The Atlanta Journal Constitution ajc com Archived from the original on November 17 2009 Retrieved November 16 2009 Turner Dorie November 16 2009 Nation s largest gay newspaper publisher closes news yahoo com Associated Press Retrieved November 16 2009 dead link Perez Pena Richard November 16 2009 Washington Blade and Several Other Gay Newspapers Go Out of Business The New York Times Archived from the original on November 18 2009 Retrieved November 16 2009 WE DID IT IS HERE Archived from the original on 2009 11 20 Retrieved 2013 11 02 Special Reportsby Chris Johnson Washington Blade America s Leading Gay News Source the gay community s news source Washington Blade America s Leading Gay News Source Dcagenda com Archived from the original on 2009 11 22 Retrieved 2013 12 05 Zak Dan 2010 04 27 Gay weekly D C Agenda sets a memorable date The return of The Washington Blade The Washington Post Archived from the original on 2017 06 22 Retrieved 2017 09 18 Washington Blade to launch newspaper in Los Angeles Washington Blade 10 March 2017 Archived from the original on 23 December 2021 Retrieved 23 December 2021 a b c Masthead of The Washington Blade Image Washington Blade 2006 11 24 Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved 2007 03 05 a b Washington Blade Advertising Information Article Washington Blade 2007 Archived from the original on February 7 2007 Retrieved 2007 03 05 American Bar Association 1995 Silver Gavel Award Winners American Bar Association Archived from the original Data Table on February 15 2006 Retrieved 2007 03 05 Society of Professional Journalists 2007 Dateline Award Winners Society of Professional Journalists Archived from the original DOC on September 27 2007 Retrieved 2007 06 13 Sorensen Mark Summer 1996 Censorship and the Public Librarian Article 78 3 Illinois Libraries 120 123 Archived from the original on 2007 01 03 Retrieved 2007 03 05 a b Graham Trey 2007 02 01 Gay critic critiques gay paper cause of gay actor Blog Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2007 03 05 The Ethics of Outing Gay Politicians Article PBS Frontline WGHB Educational Foundation 2006 11 14 Archived from the original on 2007 03 07 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Naff Kevin 2006 02 10 All the news straight enough to print Editorial Washington Blade Archived from the original on June 19 2006 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Marzullo Greg 2007 02 05 A gay rebuttal Blog Washington Blade Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Dana Rebecca Vargas Jose Antonio 2004 07 15 Capitol Hill Insiders Irked By Campaign To Out Them Article The Washington Post pp C01 Archived from the original on 2008 07 08 Retrieved 2007 03 06 Crain Chris 2005 09 23 Gunning for Gannon is unhealthy sport Editorial Washington Blade Archived from the original on June 27 2006 Retrieved 2006 10 07 External links editDC Agenda The website for the new publication DC Agenda that was created by former Blade staff Save The Blade A temporary website utilized immediately after the Blade closed The Cutting Edge A History of the Washington Blade Metropolitan Washington DC s GLBT Newspaper of Record via The Rainbow History Project Newspaper of Record 35 Years of the Washington Blade by The Rainbow History Project Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Washington Blade amp oldid 1178376262, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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