News Tips?
-- tips@phblend.com

PHB Mobile


About
-- The Blog
-- Pam | My home page
-- Autumn
-- Daimeon
-- Julien
-- "Radical" Russ
-- Terrance

Contact the Baristas

The Blend Blogrolls

Activism


Best of the Blend
Blog Posts

Special Events and Interviews

Blend-o-licious endorsements...



The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend:
"a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."

He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior." (CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)


Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).

"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008



Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:

A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist."
(Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)

"A nutty lesbian blogger."
(MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)


Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush


who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
--"Joe"

Content © 2004-2008
Pam Spaulding

House Blend logo © 2005
Melissa McEwan

Photo of Pam Spaulding
© Judy G. Rolfe
All Rights Reserved.


SITE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Support the Blend




An Online Magazine in the Reality-Based Community.



Here Media's CEO Paul Colichman and GM Stephen Macias on the year for The Advocate and Out

by: Pam Spaulding

Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 08:00:00 AM EST


Many of you may be wondering what has been going on with The Advocate, a publication that has been described in the news as a sinking ship, as well as OUT, both owned by Here Media. Stephen Macias, GM of Regent/Here Media separated the truth from the fiction in a discussion with Michelangelo Signorile.

Here Media CEO Paul Colichman reflected on his year at the helm of The Advocate in an open letter to readers:

Dear Valued Readers,

Fourteen months have passed since Here Media integrated the Advocate and Out brands into our company. As we are about to release our year-end issues, I thought it a good time to share our vision regarding these venerable and iconic properties.

During an economically troubled 2009, which saw the death of many important print publications, both The Advocate and Out fared significantly better advertising-wise than the industry as a whole. Together the brands will show a small profit.

Aaron Hicklin, editor in chief of Out, has used his exquisite editorial voice to make that magazine the largest and most successful gay publication in the world. In June 2008 he recommended that we hire Jon Barrett as editor in chief of The Advocate. Jon, an enormously gifted and talented individual, thinks beyond print and has supercharged the Advocate brand. The meteoric rise in traffic to Advocate.com proves this. Thanks to Jon and his extraordinary team, The Advocate now reaches more people in a single month than it previously did in an entire year.

We have added extensive new features and staff to The Advocate, including our company's first Washington correspondent, Kerry Eleveld. As those of you who frequent Advocate.com know, Kerry's dogged reporting -- especially at White House press briefings -- has helped drive the agenda this year on issues such as marriage equality and "don't ask, don't tell." Also of particular note, The Advocate launched its first-ever website exclusively for women, SheWired.com.

Here's the interview.

The letter continues below the fold.

 
Pam Spaulding :: Here Media's CEO Paul Colichman and GM Stephen Macias on the year for The Advocate and Out

As the owner of a television network, we realize the importance of professionally created video news content. Accordingly, we have hired and integrated several new staff members who can work cross-platform -- in print, online, and broadcast. Sadly, that meant we had to say goodbye to four valued members of The Advocate's editorial team.

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.

We believe we must distribute content via print, online, and television in order to sustain a viable news service -- one that can afford to provide professionally written, edited, and produced stories and news packages. Our organization maintains the highest level of journalistic integrity. Here Media employees, of which there are more than 150, all believe that you deserve honesty and professionalism.

On behalf of our entire family, I thank you for your remarkable support during our first year. I invite you to visit our other sites: Out.com, OutTraveler.com, SheWired.com, HereTV.com, HIVPlusMag.com, as well as our newest acquisitions, Gay.com and PlanetOut.com. Until all Americans have full equality, we will remain The Advocate.

Sincerely,

Paul Colichman
CEO, Here Media, Inc.

A few questions for readers, since it's an open opportunity to discuss your LGBT news reading habits?

  1. How many of you subscribe to The Advocate or any other print LGBT magazine?
  2. How many buy one on occasion at the newsstand/store?
  3. How many read online only for news, and is it LGBT outlets, blogs, etc?
  4. What do you think will become of print news services -- will they be forced to go online only (the printing and distribution costs can be onerous black hole expenses for publishers)?
  5. Do you think readers are willing to pay for online content? If not, how can it be self-sustaining if the ad revenue isn't there?
Tags: , (All Tags)
Bookmark and Share
Print Friendly View Send As Email
I have an Advocate subscription and nobody pays for content online
If it's online, people believe it is supposed to be free.  

That is why I wonder how publishers are planning on making money going online-only.   By the accounts I've read, ad revenue online is not comparable to print.

I also prefer magazines because they have a sense of permanence that I just don't get from websites.   You can archive magazines, I do not believe anyone has a vision or plan for making sure the info on blogs/sites/vlogs remains accessible once the site creators stop paying the ISP bill or get burned out.



Be better, not bitter!


I think it would work.
I already subscribe to both Out and The Advocate as a package deal.  And I look forward to both--one for the socio-cultural/"superficial" things it brings and the other for the hard-hitting news and interviews it brings.

I think a combined issue that incorporates a significant chunk of The Advocate into the monthly Out would be a deal that most would enjoy.  And I think you get some cross-demographics that would probably help both.

And if in that package deal you could get The Advocate for a small add-on price, say $10, that also comes with a subscription to the Advocate.com, it would be a good thing.  And then if the online site became a real go-to site, up-to-the-minute reporting, with an RSS feed, it would become a sort of Huffington Post for the gay community.

But what do I know?  I'm from Mississippi, and we is illiterate.


I let my subscription lapse this year.
I haven't decided yet whether or not to renew it.  One reason was the font in the "new and improved" version is so small that it was a strain for my 56 yo eyes.  I read the Advocate website regularly for news and don't care much for the entertainment portion of the magazine. Since I wasn't reading much of it, I decided to let it go for now.

LGBT news reading habits
As a long-time subscriber to Advocate, I am deeply saddened at this development.  Nonetheless, print media as a whole is suffering and this move may afford further longevity to both brands.  

I subscribe to both Out and the Advocate.  I also get my news from online sources such as blogs but I find the Advocate.com to be nothing more than a mish-mash of stories with no in-depth analysis (unless it was an article in the print magazine.)

I think news services will have no choice but to eventually charge for online content, if they want to survive as a company.  

And yes, I'm willing to pay for their services although reading from a computer is not always eye-friendly.


Menu

Make a New Account

Username:

Password:



Forget your username or password?




Join the Blend Chat Room



Report TOS Violations

Premium Sponsors



BlogAds






Search the Blend
Current site


PHB 2.0 Web
Search Blend 1.0 Archives
Ad Networks


BlogSheroes BlogAds


Miscellany

RSS Feeds

Subscribe with Bloglines

Visit NCBlogs


frontpage hit counter

Stats

Powered by: SoapBlox