Out Lays Off Entire Staff

Capitol New York reports that Out Magazine has laid off its entire editorial staff.

The editorial staff of the influential gay lifestyle magazine Out is being laid off with one month's severance as of Friday, Capital has learned. But according to Out editor-in-chief Aaron Hicklin, it's more complicated than that. Hicklin said he will hire back an unspecified number of editors on a contract basis into a new company he is founding called Grand Editorial. It will operate the magazine as a contractor for Here Media, a subsidiary of Regent Media, which acquired Out in 2008. Hicklin told Capital there will be no reduction in the frequency of the magazine or other major changes to the content. "This was not a cost-cutting measure," he said.

Not a cost-cutting measure?

Out is Hicklin's first, and so far only, client. He said he plans to offer long-term contracts at Grand to "most" of his 12 editorial employees at Out. Should any of them take it, he said, the gig will come with flexible hours and the opportunity to work on other projects in the Grand stable, but not full-time salaries or benefits. (They will be contracted freelancers.) [snip] Hicklin said he doesn't have any outside investors and that revenue at this point will be project-based, a prospect that has been met with gentle skepticism from some Out staffers: Here Media has had problems paying its freelancers and vendors over the past several years.

RELATED: In November 2009 it was announced that The Advocate would henceforth be shipped only in combination with sister publication Out, ending after 40+ years the stand-alone status of the nation's most highly regarded LGBT news source.

Alyson Books Goes Digital-Only

Long-running LGBT publishing house Alyson Books is restructuring as an e-books only company following its acquisition by Here Media several years ago. Many of Alyson's authors have long-overdue books, including Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, who went very public with his complaints last month.

John Knoebel, v-p of consumer marketing at Here Media, has been named interim publisher until a new digital publisher can be found. Knoebel said he doesn't expect Alyson to begin publishing e-books for nine to 12 months. "We want to develop a strategy that makes sense," he said, adding that Here Media would like to have the new publisher on board and involved with creating the new business model. The recruitment of a digital publisher "could take some time," Knoebel said. Over the next few days Alyson will be reaching out to the authors it has under contract and whose books they have not published to give them the option of getting their rights back or moving ahead with Alyson's digital program. "We know authors are working in different circumstances," Knoebel said. "We hope some will stick with us." Alyson has about 24 authors under contract whose books have not yet been released. Alyson has not published new print books since fall 2009.

Advocate To Partner With NBC News

The parent company of The Advocate announced today that they have inked a partnership deal with NBC News. Via press release:

Here Media and The Advocate, the world’s leading gay news source, announced today their new affiliate deal with NBC News Channel, an NBC News unit that provides content services to NBC television affiliates and other selected news outlets around the world. It’s the first partnership of its kind between NBC News Channel and an LGBT news outlet. The award-winning Advocate.com will now utilize NBC News Channel’s worldwide resources to create daily news segments that will air online and on air. The new collaboration continues The Advocate’s strategic overall expansion. The brand now produces its iconic print publication, breaking news and video content on Advocate.com, and The Advocate On-Air, a television and online newsmagazine.

“Media continues to evolve, and The Advocate continues to grow and deliver news and entertainment across all platforms,” said Paul Colichman, CEO of Here Media. “The Advocate’s partnership with NBC News Channel allows our brand a unique opportunity to focus an LGBT lens on issues important to gay and lesbian Americans and their families. Our editors and expert journalists look forward to breaking new ground in a diverse media landscape.” Advocate.com will host daily video news reports using footage from NBC News and its local television affiliates. Additionally, NBC News can access America’s most trusted gay news source by using Advocate talent and content when reporting on important gay issues to its predominantly mainstream audiences.

RELATED: Last August MTV's gay network Logo ended its relationship with CBS News.

Unzipped Magazine Folds

The Sword (NSFW) reports that Unzipped Magazine has ceased operations.

The bell tolled for Unzipped on Friday morning when its owner, Regent Media's Paul Colichman, laid off over half its staff and told those who remained that the magazine was finished. The company is waiting to roll out the official announcement, but a couple newly-unemployed staffers leaked the sad news over the weekend to sources close to The Sword. Unzipped's blog is still up and running as of this morning, but it is likely that the two new issues currently waiting in the wings will never be printed.

Last year Maverty Publications closed all seven of its gay porn titles: Black Inches, Honcho, Inches, Latin Inches, Mandate, Playguy, and Torso. Are there any gay porn magazines left?

The (Sort Of) End Of The Advocate

After a week of internet rumors and quasi-denials, Here Media CEO Paul Colichman has confirmed that The Advocate will now be shipped only in combination with sister publication Out Magazine, ending after 40+ years the stand-alone status of the nation's most highly regarded LGBT news source. From Colichman's letter published at Advocate.com yesterday:

The recent closures of Gourmet, Portfolio, Genre, and other magazines have shown the weaknesses of the print publication model. The rising costs of paper, printing, and postage have become a major problem. Therefore, we plan to greatly reduce these costs by jointly marketing The Advocate and Out magazines. We will fulfill Advocate subscriptions via joint delivery with Out. Advocate subscribers will continue to receive their monthly magazine along with a copy of Out at no extra charge. This move will also allow us to continue to offer Out at affordable subscription prices, either as a stand-alone title or with the choice to receive The Advocate as well. The strategy preserves our ability to deliver the same high-quality print magazines while allocating additional resources to editorial content.

Here Media recently acquired Gay.com and PlanetOut.com, the final two properties of PlanetOut, the now defunct company that formerly published Out and Advocate.