Rex Wockner (born 1957) is an American

freelance journalist ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

who has reported news for the

gay press The following is a list of periodicals (printed magazines, journals and newspapers) aimed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) demographic by country. Australia The most comprehensive holdings of LGBT periodicals is fo ...

and mainstream

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

since 1985. His work has appeared in more than 325 gay publications in 38 countries.Rex Wockner - wockner.com - rexwockner.com
/ref>

Career

Wockner earned a bachelor of arts degree in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and began his reporting career in radio. Wockner has made a specialty of covering gay and lesbian news stories from around the world. Wockner traveled to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

to report on the world's first same-sex

civil union A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

s in 1989, and likewise covered the world's first

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

s in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2001. Wockner also reported from the scene on the first

gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...

events in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1991, and has reported extensively on

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

movements in the former

East Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

and

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...

, as well as from the International Lesbian and Gay Association world conferences and international

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

conferences. In the United States, Wockner has reported on many political and social developments affecting

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

people, including coverage of the

political convention The terms party conference (British English, UK English), political convention (American English, US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain Delega ...

s of the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, NLGJA conferences, the

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

Awards, and major

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

demonstrations. Wockner's journalism has included a weekly 1,000-word roundup of gay news from outside the United States, a weekly 700-word opinion column called ''The Wockner Wire'', and a biweekly roundup of gay quotables called ''Quote Unquote''.Matt & Andrej Koymasky - Famous GLTB - Rex Wockner
In 1998, Wockner had 91 subscribers to his international news feed, prompting

PlanetOut PlanetOut, Inc. was an American online media and entertainment company that targeted the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. It was founded in 1995 by Tom Rielly as an early internet-based media company. PlanetOut began as ...

chairman Tom Rielly to call Wockner a "one-man gay AP (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

)".Wiring the Gay World
/ref> Wockner was the subject of a biographical article in ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia'' (1998). He was also one of the discussion participants for the 2002 book ''Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions'' by

Ron Suresha Ron Jackson Suresha (born October 8, 1958) is an American author and editor of books centering on gay and bisexual men's subcultures, particularly the Bear community. Biography Suresha was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended grade school in ...

. Wockner currently lives in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Wockner is a lapsed

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and former

seminarian A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

References

External links

''Wockner'' (weblog)''Rex Wockner'' (web site) links to articles and interviews by Wockner

Bibliography

*Hogan, Steve, and Lee Hudson. ''Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia.'' New York: Holt, 1998. *Suresha, Ron Jackson. ''Bears on Bears: Interviews and Discussions.'' Los Angeles: Alyson, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wockner, Rex 1957 births Living people American male journalists American gay writers Writers from San Diego Journalists from San Diego American LGBTQ journalists