Even though Washington, D.C., is roughly 200 miles from Tidewater Virginia, the Washington Blade was in many ways the "local" LGBT newspaper. The LGBT community in this area is fractured and has the terrible trait of not supporting other members of the community. Thus, there has been no quality local LGBT paper for some years now. Adding to the lack of unity is the historic separation of "Southside" from the Virginia Peninsula that arose from the fact that until the 1960's, one had to take a ferry to go between the two sections of the region. Thus, the online version of the Washington Blade was widely read in Tidewater - particularly since it would include Virginia news items. I have spoken to Blade reporter Chris Johnson numerous times and he's even told me that he reads this blog to get ideas on stories from this area. Now, DC Agenda has announced the return of the Washington Blade. The Washington Post has some details as does DC Agenda. Here are highlights from the Post:*
The District's long-running gay weekly will resume publishing under its original name, the Washington Blade, at the end of this week, after the acquisition of the Blade's assets in bankruptcy court in Atlanta. In late February, staffers bought the newspaper's name, copyright, trademark, archives, computers and office furniture for $15,000. Twenty-five thousand copies of the first edition of a redesigned Blade will hit the streets Friday.
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The 40-year-old newspaper -- founded as a one-sheet newsletter in October 1969 just months after the Stonewall riots in New York incited the modern gay rights movement -- has published weekly editions under the name D.C. Agenda since Nov. 20, four days after parent company Window Media declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations. Working with half the staff of the Blade (which last year had 24 full-timers) and an array of freelancers, D.C. Agenda also relied on the generosity of lawyers, accountants, advertisers and readers from around the world, many of whom contributed pro bono or financial support, according to editor Kevin Naff.
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The acquisition replants Blade ownership in the District under Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia Inc., which Naff, publisher Lynne Brown, sales executive Brian Pitts and other staffers formed in January to publish D.C. Agenda. The Blade is currently renting office space at the Metro D.C. GLBT Community Center on 14th Street NW. Plans are under way to find a more permanent newsroom headquarters, to restore 10 years of digital archives on www.washblade.com, and to find a suitable home for its print archives, which chronicle 40 years of the gay rights movement and are kept in two dozen filing cabinets.
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Kudos to Kevin Naff and staff who have pulled off a wonderful resurrection of the Blade.
The District's long-running gay weekly will resume publishing under its original name, the Washington Blade, at the end of this week, after the acquisition of the Blade's assets in bankruptcy court in Atlanta. In late February, staffers bought the newspaper's name, copyright, trademark, archives, computers and office furniture for $15,000. Twenty-five thousand copies of the first edition of a redesigned Blade will hit the streets Friday.
*
The 40-year-old newspaper -- founded as a one-sheet newsletter in October 1969 just months after the Stonewall riots in New York incited the modern gay rights movement -- has published weekly editions under the name D.C. Agenda since Nov. 20, four days after parent company Window Media declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased operations. Working with half the staff of the Blade (which last year had 24 full-timers) and an array of freelancers, D.C. Agenda also relied on the generosity of lawyers, accountants, advertisers and readers from around the world, many of whom contributed pro bono or financial support, according to editor Kevin Naff.
*
The acquisition replants Blade ownership in the District under Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia Inc., which Naff, publisher Lynne Brown, sales executive Brian Pitts and other staffers formed in January to publish D.C. Agenda. The Blade is currently renting office space at the Metro D.C. GLBT Community Center on 14th Street NW. Plans are under way to find a more permanent newsroom headquarters, to restore 10 years of digital archives on www.washblade.com, and to find a suitable home for its print archives, which chronicle 40 years of the gay rights movement and are kept in two dozen filing cabinets.
*
Kudos to Kevin Naff and staff who have pulled off a wonderful resurrection of the Blade.
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