''The Advocate'' is an American
LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly 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 and transgender (LGBT) people. The magazine, established in 1967, is the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBT rights movement. On June 9th, 2022 Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC known as equalpride putting the famous magazine back under queer ownership.
History
''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
The Black Cat Tavern is an LGBT historic site located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1967, it was the site of one of the first demonstrations in the United States protesting police brutality against LGBT people, pre ...
, on January 1, 1967, and the demonstrations against
police brutality
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to ...
in the months following that raid. 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''. 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. In 1969 the newspaper was renamed ''The Advocate'' and distributed nationally. By 1974, Mitch and Rau were printing 40,000 copies for each issue.
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.
Goodstein and Dr. 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
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...
. 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
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
regulations.
Soon after Goodstein's death in 1985, the magazine was transformed from a
tabloid
Tabloid may refer to:
* Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
* Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
** Chinese tabloid
* Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
* Sopwith Tabloid
The Sopwith Tabloid an ...
-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. 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.
Wieder and her staff's coming-out interviews with such diverse gay luminaries as
Ellen DeGeneres,
George Michael,
Liz Smith,
Gore Vidal,
Chaz Bono
Chaz Salvatore Bono (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, ''The Sonn ...
,
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.
''The Advocate'' changed hands through a series of mergers and acquisitions, first unsuccessfully with PlanetOut in 2006, and later with
Here Media
Here Media Inc. is an LGBT-oriented media company. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company produces and distributes niche content focused on LGBT consumers.
History
Here Media was founded in 2009 by Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow when H ...
. 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. Starting in 2010, Here Media consolidated the distribution for ''The Advocate'' and ''
Out
Out may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956
* ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander
* ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...
'' 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. 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
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City that also produces ''Out''.
''The Advocate'' is now published bi-monthly with six issues per year.
In 2017, Here Media sold its magazine operations to a group led by Oreva Capital, who renamed the parent company Pride Media.
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. 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.
On June 9th, 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. Diane Anderson-Minshall is now the Global Chief Content Creator.
Comics
''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,
and "Gayer Than Strange" by
Sean
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan ( Ulster variant; a ...
. After these were discontinued, ''It's a Gay Life'' by
Donelan debuted in 1977 and ran for 15 years.
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 and ''Servants to the Cause'' by
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...
also appeared briefly during the late 1980s.
Podcast
''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. The series features a range of LGBTQ guests including activists, politicians, and members of the entertainment industry.
Awards and accolades
In January 2014 ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' cited three ''Advocate'' covers in its feature, "23 Magazine Covers That Got It Right When Depicting Powerful Women": February 2011 (featuring
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
), February 2012 (
Nancy Pelosi) and January 2013 (
Tammy Baldwin
Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Wisconsin since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she served three terms in the Wisconsin St ...
, .com edition). ''The Advocate'' won the
GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage in 2020. 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.
;GLAAD Award nominations (2014)
* Outstanding Magazine Article: "What's Wrong With Exxon?" by Antonia Juhasz (''The Advocate'')
* Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage (''The Advocate'')
* Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: "Prime Timers: Spotlight on LGBT Seniors" (series) (''Advocate.com'')
* Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: "We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda" by Sunnivie Brydum, D. David Robinson (''Advocate.com'')
Notable past and present contributors
*
Calpernia Addams
Calpernia Sarah Addams (born February 20, 1971) is an American actress, musician, spokesperson and activist for transgender rights and issues.
Early life
Addams grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. She served as a Hospital Corpsman with the Navy. ...
*
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...
*
Adam Block
*
Chaz Bono
Chaz Salvatore Bono (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, ''The Sonn ...
(pre-transition)
*
Kate Clinton
Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/lesbian point of view.
Early life and education
Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in the ...
*
David Michael Conner
*
Howard Cruse
*
Benoit Denizet-Lewis Benoit Denizet-Lewis is a writer with ''The New York Times Magazine'', a ''New York Times'' best-selling author, and a tenured professor of writing, literature and publishing at Emerson College.
Background
A citizen of both France and the Unite ...
*
Gerard Donelan
*
David Francis
*
Michael Joseph Gross Michael Joseph Gross (born 1970) is an American author and journalist.
He is a contributing editor to '' Vanity Fair'', where he covers topics including politics, technology, and national security. He has also written extensively for publications ...
*
Allan Gurganus
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) (A ...
*
Matthew Hays
Matthew Hays is a Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He won a Lambda Literary Award for his 2007 book '' The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers''.
Hays teaches film studies, journalism ...
*
Janis Ian
*
Josh Kilmer-Purcell
*
James Kirchick
*
Tony Kushner
*
Lance Loud
*
Parker Marie Molloy
*
Ryan Murphy
*
Jasika Nicole
*
Jack Nichols
*
Robert Opel
Robert Opel (born Robert Oppel, October 23, 1939 – July 7, 1979) was an American photographer and art gallery owner most famous as the man who streaked during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974.
Biography
Opel was born in East Orange, New Jers ...
*
Christopher Rice
Christopher Travis Rice (born March 11, 1978) is an American author. Rice made his fiction debut in 2000 with the bestselling ''A Density of Souls'', going on to write many more novels, including ''The Snow Garden'', ''The Heavens Rise'', ''The V ...
*
B. Ruby Rich
B. Ruby Rich is an American scholar; critic of independent, Latin American, documentary, feminist, and queer films; and a professor emerita of Film & Digital Media and Social Documentation at UC Santa Cruz. Among her many contributions, she is ...
*
Gabriel Rotello
*
Michael Rowe
Michael Rowe (born 1960) is an American television writer, producer and comedian. He has written for '' Becker'', ''The Nanny'', ''Futurama'', ''Paranormal Action Squad'' and ''Family Guy'', as well as writing the episode of ''The PJs
''The P ...
*
Vito Russo
*
Randy Shilts
*
Michelangelo Signorile
Michelangelo Signorile (; born December 19, 1960) is an American journalist, author and talk radio host. His radio program is aired each weekday across the United States and Canada on Sirius XM Radio and globally online. Signorile was editor- ...
*
Donald Spoto
*
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...
*
Urvashi Vaid
*
Bruce Vilanch
*
Kenji Yoshino
References
Further reading
*
* Issues of ''The Advocate'' for 1972–1973 and 1977–1982 are available.
*
*
*
External links
*
Corporate site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Advocate, The
1960s LGBT literature
1967 establishments in the United States
Bimonthly magazines published in the United States
Biweekly magazines published in the United States
LGBT-related websites
LGBT-related magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1967
Magazines published in Los Angeles
Monthly magazines published in the United States
News magazines published in the United States