You would think with the mainstream print media industry collapsing that news that The New England Blade, an alternative gay paper in Boston owned by HX Media, closed its doors this week would be another sad story of of a publication caught up in the financial crisis tsunami. But it turns out that it’s not the market that killed the New England Blade, it’s HX CEO Matthew Bank.
In 2006 the paper, then called IN Newsweekly was sold to HX Media, best known for it’s New York based bar rag and tendency to fire people en masse. IN’s then editor, Fred Kuhr, soon found himself in charge of a paper which often failed to pay its contributors and was pressured to focus on “lighter, fluffier” stories.
Joe Siegel, a former writer for the paper, has the whole gory story, complete with tales of how HX hiring a convicted felon to act as publisher and how reporters and staff never received their paychecks:
“At the end of the year, Kuhr and two other writers requested a meeting with HX’s CEO, Matthew Bank, to discuss their concerns regarding the paper’s deteriorating quality.
When Bank ignored the request, the three longtime writers terminated their involvement with IN newsweekly.
In February, IN Newsweekly was rechristened The New England Blade. [Former associate publisher Bill] Berggren doesn’t mince words when it comes to HX: “I was sorry to see that the agenda of the new owners was business first, people second. They changed the name of a New England institution with a 15-year history, and then bullied their advertisers, community activists, and staff.”
HX Media’s been a source of constant drama over the past few years. Its attempt at a Philadelphia publication failed and just last week, the magazine fired one of its top sales staff.
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What are we supposed to say to all this? Hey owners of gay publications, stop trying to turn everything into a watered down version of Us Weekly with more pectoral shots! Just because they call you the “gay mafia” doesn’t mean you should run your businesses like you’re in the mob, you know? Honestly, we love the shady, duplicitous self-serving practices of the folks who decide ala Charles Foster Kane that “it would be fun to run a newspaper.” It’s just sad that in real life, the staff and the readers are the ones who wind up suffering.
So long New England Blade. You deserved better.
Joe Moag
Maybe they should have hired Voss to interview celebs about their penis size
Jason
It’s important to note though that Boston has TWO gay newspapers, and the other one (Bay Windows) was always better and much more widely-read. Neither were great, to be honest, but I don’t know of many people who would pick InNewsweekly over Bay Windows.
Also, despite a large gay community, Boston has been losing gay establishments for years. If there’s a major city in America where gays are becoming fully integrated, it’s probably there–the gayborhood is gone, nearly all the gay bars are gone, and marriage is equal. The downside is things like this; we’re shedding elements of our own smaller community to become part of the larger whole.
Joe Moag
@Jason: Jason: That’s a really interesting insight on Boston, and the effects of greater integration.
Thanks for sharing!
Blockade Boy
Does anybody know this paper’s relationship to the other gay “Blade” papers (with the exact same logo!) like the Washington Blade, South Florida Blade, etc.? How independent are they? I was going to see if I could syndicate my comic strip to them, but now I’m not sure.
Phoenix (The Mildly Hung-over One, Not the Pale One)
Since print media is dying out I don’t think the newspaper would have lasted much longer anyway. If I were Fred Kuhr and his staff I’d start an online version of the same paper called Boston’s Gay Blade. Not only would they be free of HX Media’s tyranny, but they probably would be successful enough not to worry about where their next paycheck was coming from…which they obviously had to with CEO Matthew Bank.
Roland Basque
I think it’s really cool to be anti-gay.I mean what does “gay” entail?Is it about a bunch of heterophobes trying to advance their own intolerant and narcissistic agenda?Everyone I know enjoys mimicking and making sport of the self absorbed nebbish twits who consider themselves candidates for veneration just because they are so called gay.Nobody really likes queers they just consider them material for great comedy.
Rock
Roland, go eat some cyanide.
waffle twat
@Blockade Boy: I like your comic.
nikko
I’ll tell you what it means to be gay, Roland. First off, it certainly is being superior to typical, evil straight males like you. No doubt, you are the most troublesome species on earth. The straight male. Yech. Now, to be gay means one is gender flexible, that is, to have strong elements of both masculine and feminine, but we are male nonetheless. The opposite would be true for lesbians,etc. This gender flexibility,I believe, is what sets homos apart from heteros in that we are overwhelmingly far more creative, gentle, lovers of beauty, passionate, kind, gentle.
Hell Kitchen Guy
Interesting that the guy Bill who was accused by a court for illegal actions against the IN magazine is the source for the quotes. Very objective journalism LOL