Big Isn’t Always Better

By Dustin Fitzharris

In 1978, two years after graduating from Northwestern University in Chicago, actor-playwright Charles Busch returned to New York City, his hometown. He had attempted to start a theater company in the Windy City, but that, he says, ended in a “bitter squabble.” At a loss, he decided to create a career for himself as a solo performer. Busch, now internationally renowned, was still an undiscovered talent in 1979, but The Advocate, the oldest continuing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (L.G.B.T.) publication in the United States, recognized his work and did the first review and interview with him.

“The Advocate was the best way for a gay artist to be introduced to the national gay community,” Busch says. “It gave this young solo performer a credibility and importance that was instrumental in my career. The Advocate continued to support my progress, as it has so many gay artists.”

Now, 42 years after its first issue, The Advocate is available in print only as an insert in another gay publication, Out, which focuses on entertainment, fashion and beauty. All single-copy distribution ceased in 2009. Some may look at this as a failure. I see it as a success. Here’s why. (And full disclosure: I’ve written for The Advocate.)

First and foremost, because many of the issues that The Advocate pioneered are now routinely covered by the mainstream press. Among the stories the magazine covered first were “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and same-sex marriage. Now those issues are often found on the front pages of newspapers across the country. Furthermore, in 1996, The Advocate featured a story about gay rights groups moving into corporations and using media strategies to funnel their messages to the public. Today, this happens routinely and papers no longer feel the need to report on a company offering same-sex benefits. The Advocate was the first publication to deliver a print interview with Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old student who was tortured and murdered in Wyoming for being gay.

In the late ’90s, the magazine reported on Hollywood’s use of more and more gay characters and gay-themed plots. Fast-forward to 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, a story about a relationship between two cowboys. It went on to nab three Academy Awards, proving how far the public’s attitude toward the gay community had come since 1993, when The Advocate felt the need to write about the film Philadelphia, in which a homosexual lawyer battled AIDS and discrimination. Going even further back, in 1975 singer Bette Midler was the first celebrity to be featured on The Advocate’s cover. At the time, Midler’s team advised her against it, even though she had a huge gay following.

Of course, in 1979 the magazine also covered the assassination of Harvey Milk. And AIDS, from its advent in 1981, has been a deeply personal topic; The Advocate has lost — and continues to lose — staff members to the disease.

I first discovered The Advocate when I was in junior high. I would go into the bookstores in my suburban town on the outskirts of Pittsburgh and see the magazine on one of the upper shelves of the magazine rack, often too high for me to reach easily. If no one else was around, I would struggle to grab a copy — I was nervous about being seen with a magazine that was identifiable with the gay community. I remember looking through it and seeing images of gay people and gay couples, photographed in an endearing and honest way. It made me realize that who I am is acceptable. I believe this is still extremely important for younger people living outside major cities who wrestle with their sexuality and feel that they are alone or need to feel ashamed.

Although there were other L.G.B.T. publications before The Advocate, it was the first to take off nationally. It began as a local newsletter in Los Angeles, published by an activist group known as Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE). In 1969, the publication began to distribute nationally. That was a historic year for the L.G.B.T. community. In the early morning hours of June 28, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. Fed up with years of persecution, the gay community finally fought back against the police and took to the streets. The Stonewall riots are often cited as the start of the gay rights movement. The Advocate was there to report the story.

Jon Barrett, The Advocate’s editor-in-chief for the past two years, still believes in the magazine’s power. Although mainstream publications now cover L.G.B.T. issues, The Advocate wants to be the touchstone for these sources to turn to when they want to know more about these issues. “Now, more than ever, I think we are a place of conversation,” Barrett says. “The things that people are hearing about on the web or on TV, they need a place where they can analyze them.” It’s fair to say that for L.G.B.T. issues, The Advocate has been that place all along.

Another reason I see the magazine as a success is because of its increasing online presence. In the past year, the site has tripled its online readership, with monthly unique visitors numbering close to 500,000. And in February, the magazine launched a monthly hour-long TV news-magazine show, The Advocate On-Air, which is being streamed on Advocate.com and will air on the here! network. Most recently, The Advocate signed a deal with NBC, making it the first L.G.B.T.-oriented publication to partner with a major network. Advocate.com will utilize NBC resources to produce daily news segments that will run online and on The Advocate On-Air.

Barrett says it would be a mistake to expect the print edition to fade into the background. “The magazine is the pillar that holds all of these other things up. If we had decided to get rid of the print publication, I think we would’ve just become another website.”

The Advocate has survived in the turbulent economy and is still around for the community beyond print. “Young people might never pick up a print magazine again,” says Barrett. “The Advocate is more than just a magazine.”

What is it then? The world’s leading gay source and that is something to celebrate.