''Gay City News'' (stylized as ''gcn'') is a free weekly newspaper based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
focusing on local and national issues relating to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
) community. It was founded in 1994 as ''Lesbian Gay New York'', later ''LGNY'', and was sold to Community Media LLC, owner of ''
The Villager'', in 2002, which renamed the publication. It is the largest LGBT newspaper in the United States, with a circulation of 47,000.
Background
''Gay City News'' came into existence after several incarnations. The newspaper began to form in the late 1980s after the collapse of the LGBT newsmagazine ''
OutWeek
''OutWeek'' was a gay and lesbian weekly news magazine published in New York City from 1989 to 1991. During its two-year existence, ''OutWeek'' was widely considered the leading voice of AIDS activism and the initiator of a cool new sensibility in ...
'' (which came into existence in 1989 to compete against the then-dominant ''
New York Native
The ''New York Native'' was a biweekly gay newspaper published by Charles Ortleb in New York City from December 1980 until January 13, 1997. It was the only gay paper in New York City during the early part of the AIDS epidemic, and pioneered repor ...
''—which itself folded in 1997). ''OutWeek'' was known for firebrand activist style journalism and provided coverage of a then nascent
gay rights movement
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...
. It was one of the first publications to undertake scientific reporting on the growing
AIDS crisis.
After an investor squabble that closed the magazine, Troy Masters, then an advertising director at ''OutWeek'', led the formation of a group to create a new publication; that publication became known as ''QW'' (or ''QueerWeek''), the first glossy gay magazine, and was funded by William F. Chafin. Chafin died before the publication could make a profit, and the magazine was closed upon his death.
Establishment
Two years later, in 1994, Masters sought to establish a newspaper and founded ''LGNY'' (Which stood for "Lesbian-Gay New York"). ''LGNY'' published for eight years and was relaunched in 2002 as ''Gay City News''.
Masters continued in his role as publisher until leaving the publication in 2015. He moved to Los Angeles and partnered with the ''
Washington Blade
The ''Washington Blade'' is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the ''Philadelphi ...
'' to launch and publish the ''
Los Angeles Blade
The ''Washington Blade'' is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The ''Blade'' is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the ''Philadelp ...
'', now the only LGBT weekly newspaper serving Los Angeles.
Voyage LA: Meet Masters Troy
/ref>
''Gay City News'' current editor-in-chief is Paul Schindler, and the associate editor is Duncan Osborne. Its president and publisher is Victoria Schneps-Yunis.
See also
* LGBT culture in New York City
References
External links
Gay City News
{{American LGBT press
Newspapers published in New York City
LGBT-related newspapers published in the United States
LGBT culture in New York City
1994 establishments in New York City
Publications established in 1994
1990s LGBT literature
1994 in LGBT history