Window Media’s collapse led to the Washington Blade‘s staff creating the just-launched D.C. Agenda. But what about Window’s Florida publications, 411 Magazine and the South Florida Blade? Those, too, will continue! Under new names, of course.
Because the federal Small Business Administration (which absorbed Window overseer Avalon Equity Partners) owns Window’s intellectual property (i.e. the brand names of the publications), any effort to continue the publications’ missions requires new names, brands, and fancy logos. That’s because SBA, despite having offers on the table for its properties, declared Window bankrupt and closed its papers unannounced.
That left the bland-sounding company Multimedia Platforms, which was in negotiations to buy the South Florida Blade and 411 from SBA/Window, in a lurch. So instead of carrying on with those two titles, Multimedia Platforms is starting its own stand-ins under the umbrella its website Mark’s List: 411 will become Mark’s List Magazine, and the Blade — currently headed by former Queerty editor and Real World alum Dan Renzi — will become an as-yet-untitled biweekly paper. And Renzi says both publications will be helmed by “most of the writers, designers and photographers from the old publications,” reports Lisa Rab.
Renzi, meanwhile, blogs in a post titled “I’m Still Employed” that he “blame[s] corporate mismanagement” for Window’s demise. Hey, that sounds familiar!
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So what’s life like without corporate overseers? Just lovely, says Renzi.
My division’s employees just moved to new offices and got to work, same as usual, making our gay magic. It made things easier, actually. Although it was a touch stressful showing up to our old office to be greeted by our (former) Vice President crying in front of our locked doors.
Now those Vice Presidents are lamenting the loss of the company, sending out wailing press releases saying Gay Press Is Dead. Well, no, it’s not. Corporate excess is dead. I’m in my new office, with my sparkling new computer, proofreading editorials and dealing with my bizniss. Some of the papers in our company, including Washington Blade and Southern Voice, seem to be gone for now. But they will come back too.
(NB: So far, we’ve yet to hear about a resurrection of Window’s Atlanta-based David magazine, which shuttered among the rest of the closures. Have you?)
chris
this is the way Gay media should be, same as gay rights groups: Grassroots stuff, none of this corporate management bullshit which does nothing but stifle voices. This is great, Gay media actually reporting the news relevant to us. Best thing that happened to gay media I think.