PRESS PASS Q
A Newsletter for the Gay and Lesbian Press Professional
March 2004 (Vol. 5, No. 12)
A Publication of Rivendell Media and Q Syndicate

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURE:Ha ha ha, ho ho ho
Unrepentant editors out Snagglepuss and the Pink Panther: April Fools'!
By Bennett Marcus

April 1 fast approaches. Will you be playing head games with your readers? And readers, are you prepared to separate the outrageous lies from the sometimes outrageous truth?

Hans Anderson, publisher of five-year-old Hawaiian news and entertainment monthly glossy DaKine magazine, considers last year's April Fools' issue, his first, a rousing success.

Mixing bogus news items with real, DaKine included a box at the end of each section informing the reader which items were legit. (The Hawaii governor’s new tourist initiative offering discounts to gay visitors who dress sedately, speak without a lisp, and refrain from public displays of affection was a joke.) Some articles, like the exclusive interview with longtime show-biz gay couple, the two-dimensional Snagglepuss and the Pink Panther, required no clarification.

Entirely written by freelancers, the magazine has no full-time staff, and editor Andrew Thomas (also part-time) wrote almost the entire gag issue. Thomas, who said he's been writing comedy for most of his life, chose satire and spoof as the standard. "I was eager to lampoon gay magazines, the community, our enemies, our columnists, etc., so that basically anything that was funny without being unduly cruel had a good chance of seeing print."

Thomas did reject a proposed contribution from his regular book reviewer which didn't fit the funny format. "He didn't appreciate the humor idea for something as serious-minded as a book review should be. In the end, I wrote a review of a nonexistent book with a ludicrous plot.”

Thomas pens a serious advice column in each issue, but last April took a poke at rival Odyssey magazine's drag queen-written column.  (The letters were fictional, and the responses included "My advice is to dump him" or "Don’t write to me again.") "I had an enormous bunch of fun creating it; it was great not to have to deal with the real problems our readers write me about," Thomas said.

Despite all the fun, the spoof won't be repeated. "That was the first and only time. It was meant to be a surprise, and it wasn't meant to be a regular thing," publisher Anderson said.

In contrast, The Guide, a Boston-based monthly which blends travel and entertainment with a sometimes controversial libertarian take on politics and sex, has been putting out April Fools' issues for 15 years. "We look forward to April - given the lunatic Bush/Cheney cabal in Washington, the insane debates about whether a priest touched some teen’s thigh in 1963... satire is blessed relief!" said publisher French Wall.

With two full-time editors (who double as writers), one part-time writer, plus freelance contributors, The Guide has a four-color glossy cover, newsprint interior, and up to 180 pages. All the humor is written in-house, Wall said.

"Finding freelancers with our brand of politics/humor would be a challenge - besides, they're all working at The Onion," he adds, referring to the well-known satirical publication based in New York.

Although he describes The Guide as "a big, grown-up bar mag," The Guide's last April Fools' issue was chock full of political satire: included were a piece about kitty porn (note the spelling), a revelation that President George Bush is the Antichrist, and an expose on how defrocking gay priests may have led to a food poisoning outbreak (because of the ensuing lack of fabulous food at church potlucks).

"We've enjoyed mixing the 'fools' content in with our standard offerings, letting readers figure out what's for real," Wall said. He said the magazine has received only positive reader and advertiser feedback to the jokes. "Of course, some have been suckered (we returned any checks actually written out for the 'amazing grapefruit and dildo diet'), but once the satire was pointed out, all have been good sports."

Last year, staff reassured one letter writer who took seriously an article about activists attempting to outlaw vaginal birth as a form of child abuse: "Vaginal birth, although it involves children and genitals, remains legal."

Anderson of DaKine also said that reader and advertiser response was overwhelmingly positive, with only a few readers taking a joke seriously. "Some of my clients really liked it, and they actually called and told us that they liked the issue and they thought it was clever. Which is unusual – we usually don't get a lot of response here [in Hawaii]."

Editor Thomas shrugs off what he called a small number of people who don't think there's a place for humor when AIDS and civil rights remain serious issues. "These people will always be around. I refuse to stop laughing simply because they don't know how to laugh."

Yet so few queer publications do laugh within their pages. Special April Fools' editions take planning, and many overworked staffers may not feel they have the time. Plus, humor is tough to write. One publisher, asked why his magazine has never put out a spoof issue, said it's often brought up, but never acted upon. "There are some dangers in that not everyone shares a sense of humor. Add to that how politically sensitive our community can be, [and] I'd have to pass each article [by] those we were being foolish with for their approval."

Larry Gross, director of the School of Communication at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School, thinks it's okay to laugh at ourselves, and sees no ethical problems with inserting satirical material in normally serious publications, "as long as readers are not deliberately misled in a way that is potentially dangerous."

And he insists on one other limitation: gay media should be extra-sensitive to what breaches the limits of propriety.

"Obviously, racist, sexist, etc. humor is even less acceptable in the queer press than elsewhere, as we should know better."

Gross doesn't believe April Fools' gags damage the credibility of serious media. He told Press Pass Q via e-mail: "As far as the national queer press goes, I'm not sure 'serious' is the right word. As far as I can tell, the bulk [of the content of national gay glossies] is taken up with celebrity news, er, gossip, and mostly straight celebrities at that, and soft core 'fashion' shoots featuring obscenely expensive clothing worn by [young people] who would look good in anything (or nothing).

"In other words, April Fools' levity probably raises the level of seriousness in the queer press."

 

IN THE NEWS

DETROIT REPORTER REACTS TO VILIFICATION. Sometimes the reporter becomes the news. Black gay Detroit writer Brent Dorian Carpenter responded to having one of his print articles used to stir up antigay hatred by organizing a community forum to challenge homophobia - and on the way, he brought together two of the city's big community papers, a queer weekly and a black publication.

"I was offended that my work was used to gay bash," said Carpenter, who last August wrote a positive review of a black gay men's retreat for both the GLBT Between The Lines and the black weekly Michigan Citizen. Carpenter said a black host on a public access radio station read the Citizen's version aloud, adding some nasty commentary.

So Carpenter enlisted the help of two friends (including fellow Between The Lines writer Imani Williams) and set out to plan an evening "to specifically address homophobia in the black community. There are unique challenges. Some like to say homosexuality was imposed on blacks by whites."

Citizen editor in chief Theresa Kelly signed on immediately, as did Between The Lines co-publishers Susan Horowitz and Jan Stevenson. They helped pay for a venue, donated advertising, and ensured editorial coverage. All three women are white. Said Carpenter: "For the first time, those publishers came together for a common cause.

Some critics have asked me, 'Why are you involving white people?' Why would I turn my back on such tremendous [help]?"

An overcapacity crowd of more than 400 people squeezed into the town hall meeting, held Jan 28. Local black television anchor Charles Pugh came out while hosting the event.

A state senator and city councilor attended, as did the assistant police chief, and promises were made to move on domestic partnership benefits and other community demands.

Horowitz said that was just the beginning. A journalist has been assigned to track each promise made, and to report on its status. And story ideas were plentiful, such as allegations of police discrimination.

"Some people saw something they had never seen before - an empowered black gay community," she said. At least two more town halls are planned, with the next edition, on May 12, tackling homophobia in the city's schools.

Although the town hall was the first formal connection between the two community publications, they have always agreed on Carpenter. He has written for both for more than two years.

And about two-thirds of Carpenter's work runs in both papers, often with only minor changes (the Citizen, he said, has tougher word count limits). "They are going to two entirely different audiences; it has never been a problem," he said.

He started out as a columnist, and wrote his first news story for Between The Lines when he sent in a story tip, expecting it to be assigned elsewhere. (Horowitz said mentoring is an important role for the paper, with senior writer Charles Alexander tutoring two contribuyors, one Asian and one Latino).

Carpenter said being an activist, an opinionated columnist, and a fair-minded reporter keeps his life interesting. "I can't say it's hurt me. I have occasionally had to do stories that were a little bit painful; there's some dirty laundry that needs to be aired. I will not hesitate to go in there and tell the truth. I have lost a few friends over it."

Horowitz doesn't mind Carpenter's many hats. In fact, at the beginning of the month, Horowitz organized a pro-gay-marriage demonstration. "My roots are all in activism and organizing," she said. "We maintain high standards in reporting, but we are an advocacy newspaper."

- Eleanor Brown

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POP ICON REPURPOSED FOR MEDIA PROMOTION. A Chicago GLBT media company is piggybacking off the successful American Idol brand to connect with readers, grab some good publicity, and solidify business relationships.

Windy City Media Group's first Gay Idol competition was held in the spring and summer of 2003. "We were amazed at how quickly people grabbed on to it," said Tracy Baim, publisher of the Windy City Times, Nightspots, and Identity.

She launched the second Windy City Gay Idol competition for amateur singers this month. To start, an average of 20 auditioners compete in each of 11 bars across the city. Two contestants from each will advance; they will next be whittled down to 14. Whoever makes it through three more rounds wins.

Survivors are chosen by audience members, who are given ballots upon entry (each contestant wears a number). But judges have a larger say at one level, to ensure that a no-talent doesn't just pack a venue with allies.

A $5 cover charge goes to prizes for the winners and the audience.

Baim said there have been no legal problems with the owners of the American Idol trademark. Before embarking on the project, staff found similar competitions operating around the U.S. without any legal entanglements.

"We are not doing this for profit, and we are not going on television or producing CDs. These are simple bar promotions. In fact, American Idol sent us thousands of promotional items to hand out at our 2003 finals."

Participating bars are chosen based on their business relationship with Windy City Media. "We want to reinforce that we can drive traffic to their business," said Baim. A part-time promotions employee sets everything up, and advertising reps help sell sponsors and work with bar management.

There's no additional cost to the bars, but there are potential profits from alcohol sales. (Windy City Media will send over volunteers if more staff is needed.) Plus there's the free publicity from advertising, press releases, e-mail pushes, and announcements on Windy City Media's queer radio station and its website.

In addition to great PR, Baim said it's "very rewarding to be an integral part of the community at a grassroots level.

You really have a much better handle on what readers and listeners want by being out there at events. I really have not seen any negatives."

- William T. Vandegrift, Jr.

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DP BENEFITS IN THE GLBT MEDIA. Publishers wishing to offer domestic partner benefits to employees sometimes have to lobby their insurance companies.

Boston's Bay Windows began offering DP benefits last year. "There was a delay for us because our provider didn't have domestic partner benefits available for a business our size," said copublisher Sue O'Connell. "We only have 14 employees. We petitioned, and when our renewal was up this year, we finally got them."

O'Connell said the reason the paper didn't shop around for another health insurance company is that several of her employees are HIV-positive and did not want to risk losing their doctors by changing insurance companies.

"We pretty much match the national picture," O'Connell said. "Few employees actually take advantage of the benefits, so there's little impact on the bottom line. Where it helps is with morale. Any time you add a benefit it's a good thing in terms of attracting and keeping employees."

Philadelphia Gay News similarly had to lobby its health insurance provider, Independence Blue Cross, to add DP benefits to its menu of coverage. The paper convinced the company to do so in 1997. "This became somewhat confusing since at the same time the city was stating that it could not offer DP benefits [because] its health carrier, Blue Shield, did not offer [them]," said PGN publisher Mark Segal. "PGN basically lobbied, with the permission of the mayor, for both itself and the city of Philadelphia."

Window Media - publisher of the Washington Blade, New York Blade News, Southern Voice, and Houston Voice - has offered domestic partner benefits to its employees since 2001. "[I]f we don't provide this recognition ourselves, how can we insist on it from others?" asked Window Media president William Waybourn.

Other publications offering domestic partner benefits include West Hollywood's Frontiers magazine, the Bay Area Reporter and PlanetOut Partners Inc. (both based in San Francisco), and LPI Media, publisher of The Advocate and Out magazines.

"People who work for you are only going to be as committed to you as you are to them," said Lowell Selvin, PlanetOut chairman and CEO. "Offering equal benefits is a wonderful opportunity to say to all our employees, 'You matter. Your family matters."'

- Christopher Heredia

This article originally appeared in NLGJA Outlook (Winter 2004), the quarterly newsletter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (www.nlgja.org). It is reprinted with permission.

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COURT ALLOWS LIBRARY TO REMOVE GLBT NEWSPAPER. Two separate courts have now ruled that it is constitutional for Georgia's Vidalia-Toombs Public Library to ban a GLBT newspaper from its lobby area.

Editor Ronald Marcus brought copies of the locally based biweekly The Gay Guardian to the library in February 2002, where he was granted permission to display them on a table in the lobby. About a week later he went back and found the papers missing. Marcus alleged that he was told they were removed following complaints about the paper's content.

Marcus and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia filed suit claiming a breach of free speech rights under the First Amendment. But U.S. District Judge Avant Edenfield ruled in favor of the library. The ACLU's litigation update reports that "the judge created a previously unknown [legal category] and relied heavily on this novel analysis." The judge also noted that the library had good public policy reasons for its decision, "such as avoiding anticipated disruption and potential litigation, and held that the library was reasonable in silencing speech and closing the forum (even with censorious intent)."

The appeal was lost in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel upheld the original ruling on Dec. 29, 2003, stating, "The library was under no obligation to allow non-library, free-to-the-public materials."

Reached by phone, Vidalia-Toombs Public Library director Dusty Gres said that "the library did not discriminate" against Marcus. She said he did not follow the proper procedure for organizations wishing to display materials, which involves filling out a request form that must then be approved by library officials. However, she also said that only library-related items are allowed to be displayed in the lobby.

ACLU Georgia attorney Beth Littrell did not return repeated calls, but according to the Southern Voice, she said she regretted the court's decision. "Unfortunately, the 11th Circuit decided that closing a public forum to silence a particular speaker was constitutional." She added that no decision had been made about an appeal: "We'll need to decide whether we want to go back to that court and ask for a trial."

It is not known whether Marcus will continue to pursue the case, as he could not be contacted. The telephone number listed on the Gay Guardian's website is disabled, and a toll-free number on a different website, advertising Marcus' psychic services, has also been disconnected.

- D.C. Culbertson

 

*ADVOCATE editor in chief BRUCE C. STEELE was praised in February for being even-handed by the writer of a weblog on the Christianity Today site. Steele snagged an interview with a religious airline pilot who scared passengers before a flight with a cryptic message asking the Christians on board to raise their hands. The blogger wrote: "Amazingly, only one publication was able to score an interview with [the pilot]. Even more amazing, that publication is The Advocate, a gay magazine - editor-in-chief Bruce C. Steele was on the flight. Even more amazing: The Advocate's article is fair, even positive, toward [the pilot's] actions."

*The ADVOCATE has a new news features editor, CHAD GRAHAM.

*KIM CAMPBELL has joined the GAYLY OKLAHOMAN as a staff writer. She began her involvement with the paper as a freelancer.

*DOREEN FIORILLO is the new managing editor for the weekly GAYSOUTHFLORIDA.COM.

*GENRE magazine launched a supplement in its March issue, ZACH'S LIFE, an illustrated comic book portraying the life of a young gay man who's just moved to New York. The writer is Tom Ucciardi; Michael Broderick illustrates.

*Many changes announced at the HOUSTON VOICE. JASON WILSON has been named general manager. BINNIE FISHER is the new editor. A version of the former stand-alone Eclipse Magazine is now included within the pages of the Voice. Eclipse also published as a stand-alone in Atlanta, but was pulled from the stands when owners Window Media purchased the rival David magazine in that market. A version of Eclipse is now also included in Atlanta's Southern Voice.

*SUKI LEE is celebrating the publication of a book, "Sapphic Traffic" (Conundrum Press). Lee is a columnist with Ottawa, Canada's CAPITAL XTRA.

*LIBERTY PRESS (Kansas) editor KRISTI PARKER has joined the programming advisory committee of Wichita public television station KPTS. The move came after Liberty Press reporter Beth Gillespie waged a campaign to get queer content onto the station's airwaves.

*OUTLOOKS (Alberta) publisher ROY HEALE called on readers to send the prime minister of Canada a single pink rose on Valentine's Day, "as a symbol that love knows no boundaries and that equality is a basic constitutional right for all Canadians." He provided the telephone number of a florist shop, Tivoli, located in the country's capital. But a clerk answering the phone at the store earlier this month reported: "No one did it; no one sent the prime minister any flowers."

*Palm Springs newspaper MEGASCENE has released its best of" calendar for 2004. It sells for US$10, and proceeds benefit the Palm Springs Desert Museum.

*GILBERT M. RAMOS died Feb. 3 after suffering a cerebral aneurism. He was 36. Ramos was an employee in the finance department of Mercury Capital Publishing, Inc., which publishes FRONTIERS in Los Angeles.

*CATHY RENNA has left her position as GLAAD's news media director, moving to Fenton Communications to serve as media relations director. GLAAD regional news director GLENNDA TESTONE replaces Renna on an interim basis. In other news, GLAAD has named ROSALBA M. MESSINA as its new director of operations. She spent the last decade years as the chief financial officer and chief operating officer of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of New York.

*The NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION is working with UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc., to offer five need-based scholarships to bring delegates to UNITY's 2004 convention, to be Aug. 4 to 8 in Washington, D.C.. The scholarship application deadline is May 3. For scholarship info, see http://www.nlgja.org/events/unity2004.html. For convention info, see http://www.unityjournalists.org.

*Wedding bells: Queer media folk got hitched during the same-sex marriage marathon in San Francisco. On Feb. 12, CURVE managing editor GRETCHEN LEE married her partner of seven years, EVIE LEDER (who is the magazine's web producer). They are expecting their first child next month. One day later, Oakland writer JASON VICTOR SERINUS married David James Bellecci, a hairstylist. Serinus writes about music and audiophile equipment for S.F.'s Bay Area Reporter, the national glossy Advocate, Ohio's Gay Peoples Chronicle, and Dallas Voice, to name just a few. BAY AREA REPORTER news editor CYNTHIA LAIRD married her partner of 10 years, attorney Vicky Kolakowski. Meanwhile, syndicated Q Syndicate book reviewer and Canadian RICHARD LABONTE married his sweetie of many years, U.S. resident Asa Liles, on a farm in Ontario, Canada. Their pooch, Percy, also attended. And CYBERSOCKET editor in chief DARREN FREI married his partner of three years, Ken, in Toronto, Canada, in October (Frei's feature on the wedding appears in the Feb. 13 Frontiers magazine). And in related news, Frei has accepted a position as associate editor at THE OUT TRAVELER, LPI's new quarterly travel publication, while retaining the Cybersocket gig.

*KIRK WILLIAMSON marked his third anniversary with Windy City Media Group with a promotion to managing editor of the weekly entertainment guide NIGHTSPOTS. Williamson started out as an ad rep and was appointed associate editor in July 2003. He succeeds Sukie de la Croix.

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Are there important changes going on at your publication? E-mail the information to editor@PressPassQ.com.

I wish to discuss the fine line in small and even large gay newspapers which divides the sales department from the news department. It is troubling to me to be bombarded with fake news releases, shabbily concealed attempts by for-profit firms to try and have us run stories about their products so they can avoid buying ads for same.

Staff at one firm feel we should consult them for any questions we have on their topic and plug their firm. I feel they should consider purchasing space for their "news," because there's no news peg at all for us to hang a story on.

They are not local, none of the principals are local.

After I declined to take the bait, as a way to show me just how bad I was being, one of the owners sent along files of ads they've run elsewhere, told me they are an $8 million firm, and all but said "look what you are missing not doing it our way!"

I find this issue to be a constant dilemma.

My fellow publishers need to consider not only the bottom line, but our credibility with readers when we run "fake news" and mercilessly allow such plugs to take over our publications.

Ted Fleischaker, publisher, The Word (Indianapolis, Indiana)

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Send your thoughts, praise, and criticism to editor@PressPassQ.com. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and may be edited for style and length.

COMMENTARY: The fear of our own sexuality
Why so few portrayals of same-sex affection in the queer media?
By Eleanor Brown

Why is the queer press so afraid of portraying the real affection between same-sex lovers? And it's worse with the men than with the women, though that's not saying much.

I worry that there's an unconscious fear that tenderness reeks of weakness. Or perhaps we're buying into their homophobia and hiding our love away. We demand its acceptance within our pages in theory, but bury its practice. Yet the visual has a visceral affect that the printed word does not.

The most obvious "couple" photographs we run are the announcements for the recently married - portraits of incredibly important moments in the lives of the brides (or grooms), and in our history. But these pictures are also ritualized and awkward. Not so much an example of day to day affection, they play a different role, as markers of civil disobedience.

Other representations of couples in the queer media often seem forced. They're posed in ways that recall heterosexual couplings and accepted power divisions: the "man" is standing up, arm around the "woman," seated in front. Some of us may have strict rules about who's on top, but we rarely structure our whole relationship that way - many of us consciously reject hetero gender norms of conduct. But our portraits don't.

Perhaps, despite photographers fighting visual cliches, we adopt this pose simply because it's the overwhelming public paradigm available. Whatever the reason, couples must fight it; editors must reject those prints; and photographers must suggest a different pose. We need to create our own imagery. The queer press is an integral part of that.

Then there's the magazine cover. You'll rarely see - even for Valentine's Day last month - couples tenderly touching on the covers of queer publications, much less any necking.

There are good reasons for this. Much of the shelf space queer publications take up is at the mercy of the heterosexual merchant (or her customers) whose tolerance only goes so far. Getting 20 copies tossed out of five mom-and-pop corner stores can have a nasty effect on circulation.

But are we also buying into our own unconscious homophobia and keeping same-sex snogging from our covers for other reasons? Is tenderness seen as a sign of girlie weakness for the many men who are sick of being pigeon-holed as effeminate? Do queer media folk unconsciously worry that portraits of tenderness and affection somehow reduce the cultural strength needed for positive protest?

I was taught that covers are best when featuring only one figure. But the lone figure in gay male imagery is very much a tool for the sexual imagination. I have no objections to such pictures - I just wish we also presented the possibility of actual same-sex sex.

Interestingly, the bar publications have the most touching of all: they feature pages and pages of happy pub crawlers with arms about the shoulders. Good for them: But as an aside, that camaraderie is born of booze, not sexual orientation. You'd see the same pose in straight bar mags.

I did find two areas where same-affection moves beyond the platonic.A handful of advertising here and there features couples actually touching. Some are phone sex ads; some sell real estate services or coffee shop java. Here we have a situation where commerce is ahead of the role models and public good that editorial content might want to achieve.

But the very best portraiture is in the comic strips. Lovers hug all the time in the cartoons. With clothes or without, gently, reassuringly, or with lots of hotsie-totsie sex appeal.

How curious that the unreal is our best representation of everyday affection.

****** Q SYNDICATE WRITERS. Q Syndicate, the largest provider of content to the gay and lesbian press, is looking for a few good writers for columns to debut in 2004. For a FAQ sheet detailing how we operate and what we're looking for, contact Paula Martinac, Editor in Chief, at paula@qsyndicate.com.

****** ON THE WEB. The new Press Pass Q website is up and running at www.PressPassQ.com; you'll find back issues and subscription information there. Also, at the Q Syndicate website - www.qsyndicate.com - you'll find up-to-date information on the 14 columns and features we distribute to gay and lesbian media: A Couple of Guys, Bitter Girl, Book Marks, Crossword Puzzles, Deep Inside Hollywood, Editorial Cartoons, Lesbian Notions, Now Playing, Out of Town, Past Out, Q Scopes, Sex Talk, Sports Complex, and Word Searches. For information about subscribing to Q Syndicate content, write to sales@qsyndicate.com or call 908-232-5974.

****** LOOKING FOR WRITERS. Press Pass Q is always in need of reporters to write feature stories on issues of concern to the lesbian and gay press. Writers should be familiar with gay media, accustomed to tight deadlines, and willing to take editorial direction. Contact Eleanor Brown at editor@PressPassQ.com to express interest or for more information.

****** DO YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT for the Bulletin Board? Are you trying to get your work published? Looking for job applicants? Promoting a special project? Press Pass Q is now distributed to almost 2,000 working professionals in the gay and lesbian press. Bulletin Board announcements are just a dollar (U.S.) per word per insertion, paid up front. Send a check payable to Rivendell Media, P.O. Box 518, Westfield, NJ 07091-0518.

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THE STAFF

Publisher: Todd Evans, todd@PressPassQ.com
Founder: David Bianco
Editor: Eleanor Brown, editor@PressPassQ.com
Consulting Editor: Paula Martinac, paula@PressPassQ.com
Associate Editor: Dave Brousseau, QSEdBrousseau@aol.com
Contributing Writers: Bennett Marcus, Frank Pizzoli, Dorren Culbertson

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CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

ELEANOR BROWN is the editor of Press Pass Q. She reads about 30 pounds of queer publications a week.

D.C. CULBERTSON, winner of a Vice Versa Award and a GLAMA nomination, is arts and entertainment editor of Baltimore Outloud, a biweekly paper first published last May. She also freelances regularly for a variety of other publications in the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as being a professional Renaissance lutenist.

CHRISTOPHER HEREDIA is a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle and a member of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

BENNETT MARCUS meets celebrities on the red carpet and writes about it in Open All Night (online at http://www.oanmedia.com). Contact him at bennettmarcus@yahoo.com.

WILLIAM T. VANDEGRIFT, JR. (WTV67@comcast.net) graduated with an MFA from Bennington College in writing and literature in June 2003. He's a restaurant reviewer and is presently working on several freelance writing assignments.

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CONTACT US

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