FH Out Front Blog

The Publisher: More Q&A with Falls Church News-Press Owner-Editor Nicholas F. Benton

Today, we conclude our two-part Q&A with Falls Church News-Press owner-editor Nicholas F. Benton. In this conversation, Nick talks about the challenges of covering the LGBT community and addresses the future of independent community newspapers and the impact of the Internet on his work. Let us know your thoughts and check out the next weekly edition of the News-Press out tomorrow in the DC area and online at www.fcnp.com.

Ben Finzel: Your business focus is, first and foremost, on serving the needs of your readership, regardless of whether they are straight or gay. Do you feel a special responsibility to be more representative of our community given your own background?

Nick Benton: Yes, absolutely. To me, being gay obviously shapes my overall value structure which in turn permeates everything about the newspaper. This may have something to do with the fact that my own “coming out” was in the context of the civil rights, women’s and gay liberation and peace struggles of the late 1960s. In my editorials and in the focus that I bring to news coverage, I emphasize core values of equal rights, fair play and a more compassionate society. I consider my “constituency” to be the underrepresented in society, including the young, the elderly, the infirm, minorities based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and so forth. My news coverage emphasizes issues of affordable housing, schools, social services and the kinds of economic development that can help fund these. I often write directly on LGBT issues, as well, and when I introduced Wayne Besen’s column earlier this decade, I was pleased that my readers embraced it fully without complaint. I was frankly surprised by that.

Furthermore, I and my newspaper are active within the community. I serve on a number of boards promoting small business, the arts, education and LGBT issues. I sponsor an annual food drive, and a scholarship at the local high school for students who intend to enter careers focused on “enfranchising the disenfranchised.” I founded the “Diversity Affirmation Education Fund” in my name for the Falls Church School System, making a couple of large financial contributions that have gone to bringing the diversity-affirming “Challenge Days” to the local high school, and now also the middle school. As a board member of the local Chamber of Commerce, I convinced it to become the only such body in the entire state to go on record against the Marshall-Newman Amendment, the constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage in Virginia.

I also feel strongly that I have a special responsibility to my advertisers, many of whom are smaller businesses and including those who have been advertising with me from Day One in 1991 to the present. My responsibility takes the form of producing a good newspaper that people are eager to read every week. As a result, my advertisers are more successful, can hire more employees and so forth. This is my “pro-family” policy, to help families succeed by helping the businesses that employ them and can help pay for their children to buy new clothes and go to college. It should not go without saying that my newspaper circulates in one of the most demographically-attractive regions of the U.S. from an advertiser standpoint. We are the only newspaper in an area of 100,000 souls that have $4 billion in annual disposable income, one of the highest-income-per-capita regions of the nation. If only more national advertisers could appreciate what a great “bang for the buck” they’d get by being in my newspaper, we’d all benefit.

The Publisher: Q&A with Falls Church News-Press Owner-Editor Nicholas F. Benton

Over the past two and a half years, we’ve featured national, regional and local dignitaries in this Q&A series. Some of our interview subjects have become our friends over the course of our working together on the blog. Today, we’re featuring a man who is a longtime friend of mine. Nicholas F. Benton is the owner-editor of the Falls Church News-Press, an independent weekly newspaper in the Washington suburbs that he founded in 1991.

A native of California, Benton earned a graduate degree from the Pacific School of Religion in 1969, and was the co-founder of the Berkeley, Calif., Gay Liberation Front in 1970. His essay, “Berkeley and the Fight for an Effeminist, Socially-Transformative Gay Identity,” appears in the just-released anthology, “Smash the Church, Smash the State, The Early Days of Gay Liberation” by City Lights Books, published to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the founding of the modern gay liberation movement.  

The News-Press is a relative newcomer in the Washington media landscape, but thanks to Nick’s commitment (and his superior networking skills), it has fast become a must-read for many political and media leaders. The fact that this “mainstream” daily newspaper is helmed by an openly gay man is significant and still fairly unique in the publishing world.

In my daily worklife, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how best to work with all types of media. As the media landscape continues to grow and change, I’d suggest that regional independent newspapers such as the News-Press are just as important as other news sources in reaching specific audience segments. Let me know what you think once you've read my two-part Q&A with Nick.

Today, in part one, Nick talks about the paper, his background and his thoughts about being openly gay in the newspaper business. In part two tomorrow, Nick will address the challenges of covering our community, the future of regional newspapers and the impact of the Internet on his business.

Ben Finzel: Tell us about the Falls Church News-Press.

The Influencer: Q&A with AfterElton.com Editor Michael Jensen

Our Pride Month special focus series wraps up today with a Q&A with AfterElton.com editor Michael Jensen. At a time when entertainment continues to dominate much of our culture, and drive much of society’s engagement with our community, it seems fitting to talk about pride and what it means now with one of the leading online authorities on entertainment.

If you’re like me, you visit - and enjoy - AfterElton.com regularly. It is one of the most visited gay entertainment news sites on the Web. If you’re unfamiliar with AfterElton.com, it’s the site for news, information and commentary about entertainment for gay and bisexual men (the ladies have their own site as well – the fabulous AfterEllen.com).

As Michael explains in our conversation, the site reports news as much as it reflects it and it serves a really important purpose in holding a mirror up to the entertainment community to reflect what is important to gay- and gay-friendly audiences. In so doing, it influences a great deal of what our community has to say about entertainment and the media.

We think Michael makes a great case for the power of online communications and the power of sites like AfterElton.com to shape the conversation about gay and lesbian people. Once you’ve read his interview, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Now, on with the show…

Ben Finzel: Tell us about the business model for AfterElton.com. You’re owned by Logo and are part of the Viacom family. How has that helped your growth and development?

The Hotelier: Q&A with Kimpton COO Niki Leondakis

Over the years on this blog, we’ve talked a lot about what companies should and shouldn’t do and offered examples of companies that demonstrate their smarts by leading their competitors in the gay and lesbian marketplace. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is one company that’s definitely a leader. As we continue our Pride Month special focus series, I’m really pleased that we’re able to bring you a Q&A with one of their senior executives.

Niki Leondakis is Kimpton’s chief operating officer and the creator of the company’s Diversity Initiative.  As she explains in her bio, the Diversity Initiative is “committed to creating a culture that acknowledges, understands, values and celebrates differences among people.” 

Long known for its unique, boutique-style hotels in San Francisco and Washington D.C., Kimpton is now becoming an even stronger player in the hotel industry with nearly 50 hotels and restaurants in major cities across the United States and Canada. Gay and lesbian engagement has been front and center in Kimpton’s outreach and communications for years and has included LGBT audience outreach, fundraising and marketing. 

As we discuss below, nearly every major hotel brand is now involved in some way in advertising or marketing to the LGBT community. But Kimpton was one of the first, and they certainly seem committed to maintaining their position in the front of the pack with their Summer of Pride promotion and their other outreach efforts to engage the LGBT community.

We’re grateful to Niki for taking the time to answer our questions. We hope you’ll enjoy reading her answers. For more information on Kimpton’s LGBT initiatives, check out their Web site.

The Musician: Q&A with Dave Koz

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be famous but not out? What are the career implications once you do come out? What goes through your mind through all of these changes? 

I’m so pleased to be able to share one man’s perspective on these – and other – questions with you. When he came out in The Advocate in 2004, Dave Koz instantly expanded his already large fan base and shattered a lot of myths about gay men and music. As Dave points out in our conversation below, many people assume that gay men only like club music. That’s not true (I, for one, have been a Dave Koz fan for more than a decade). And the idea that the only gay musicians are those that make club music has been forever banished with Dave’s bold action to say who he is fully, as a person and a musician.

I met Dave at the Out for Equality Ball here in Washington during the Presidential Inauguration in January. I walked up to him and introduced myself after his opening set at the Ball (I’ve seen lots of famous people, but never had the nerve to say anything before). What a nice guy Dave Koz is – he greeted my partner Mark and I graciously and even agreed to pose for a picture with us (that’s us in the photo to the left). Fortunately, he also agreed to conduct a Q&A with me for the blog. We’re running it today as a Pride Month special feature in advance of the kick-off of Dave’s Side by Side summer tour (with Brian Culbertson) on Friday, June 26 in Kettering, Ohio.

As I said to Dave in an e-mail after I read his answers to my questions, he is as well spoken with words as he is with music. I hope you enjoy reading Dave’s thoughts as much as I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with him. And if you’d like to know more about Dave, check out his Web site (or set up a Dave Koz channel on Pandora as I’ve done).

Ben Finzel: You came out publicly in an interview in The Advocate. What was that experience like for you? 

The Editor: Q&A with Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff

As I mentioned in my Q&A with Tracy Baim last week, regular readers of this blog know of my strong support for LGBT media. As much as I believe so-called “mainstream media” (MSM) must cover our community more, I also recognize how vitally important it is that we have strong, vibrant LGBT media outlets to ensure that all of the facets of our community are covered on a regular basis (and not just during Pride month).

So, I was thrilled when Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff agreed to participate in our Pride Month Q&A series. Kevin is increasingly recognized as one of the driving forces in LGBT media and the paper he edits is growing in importance and relevance. Kevin has done a very good job of evolving the paper’s presence and offerings. He is also a really nice guy and a friend of this blog. 

As in many communities, this is Pride Week in Washington and every day is chock full of events and observances leading up to this weekend’s Pride parade and festival. That makes this a great week to talk with Kevin about pride, media coverage and the future of the Blade.

Ben Finzel: We link to Blade stories quite frequently in our posts and in our tweets. The Blade has become one of the news outlets that sets the pace for LGBT news nationally. How do you balance that responsibility with your interest in covering the Washington community?

Kevin Naff: This is something we grapple with on a weekly — and sometimes daily — basis. The Blade is unique in that we have two distinct audiences: a local print readership and a national (and international) online readership.

Our local readers are looking for City Council coverage, local A&E events, etc., while our online readers come to us because of the Blade’s reputation for covering national politics, the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and more. You’d be surprised at how many IP addresses we see from places like Iraq, Kuwait and other international hotspots where the U.S. military is active. There are thousands of closeted service members and many of them check the Blade site for news on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

We work hard to balance our responsibilities to those two audiences. It sometimes means we can’t cover something that’s happening overseas because an important local story needs our attention. I wish we had the resources to devote more coverage to international issues, because the plight of foreign LGBT people is woefully underreported.

The Advocate: Q&A with GLAAD President Neil Giuliano

At the end of this week, Neil Giuliano will step down from his position as president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). After nearly four years, Neil has a lot to look back on even as he looks forward to the next chapter of his career (which might include writing a book, among other things). Neil was one of the first people to participate in our Q&A series, back in December of 2006, and we thought it fitting that as he prepares to leave GLAAD we talk with him one more time.

In this, our second Pride Month Q&A, Neil talks about pride, media coverage of our community and his thoughts on his own accomplishments at GLAAD.

Ben Finzel: What does “pride” mean now? Is it still relevant given the progress we are making as a community in terms of media coverage and attention?

Neil Giuliano: Pride in 2009 means being engaged, standing united for the change we seek and ensuring our visibility is strong, proud and enhanced. Just because we are more visible than ever before, and stand on the threshold of equality, we all know we have not yet crossed that threshold, we are not yet treated equally by our government. So the amazing coverage and attention must not wane, but must be strengthened, our stories still need to be told so the cultural change we enjoy turns into full equality under the law.

Renaissance Woman: More Q&A with Windy City Media Group Publisher Tracy Baim

Welcome back to our conversation with Windy City Media Group publisher and executive editor Tracy Baim. In today’s conclusion to our two-part Q&A, Tracy shares her thoughts on the differences between LGBT media and so-called “mainstream” media and talks about the future of LGBT media. 

Given my strongly held views about the importance of LGBT media – and appreciation for the important role they play in reporting all of the news – I was particularly interested in Tracy’s comments. I think you will be too.

Tracy’s comments on marketing to our community should be highlighted in every public relations, marketing and communications class and used as the primer for how and what to do by anyone in our industry planning outreach to our community. I could not have said it better myself, and am thrilled to be able to share Tracy’s insight with you here. 

Ben Finzel:  You cover our community 365 days a year where your so-called “mainstream” counterparts generally only pay attention to us a few times a year (including during Pride). Have you noticed an increase in “mainstream” media following LGBT media on key stories? 

Tracy Baim: There are some stories that get universal coverage by all; marriage in Iowa is an example. The mainstream covered that as it happened, as it should. The LGBT media cover that kind of story in much deeper ways. That gives our readers a context for why things happen, and why they continue to happen. Someone reading just the mainstream may have been shocked to learn about that happening, but our readers would have had years of coverage related to marriage that set the stage for the recent successes (and setbacks). We will have many more follow-up stories on marriage, and explore it on a deeper level.

There are hundreds of stories the mainstream does not cover within the LGBT community. Maybe once every few years they cover LGBTs in sport, for example, but every week in Windy City Times you see LGBT athletes in our community, whether in gay leagues or in mainstream sports. Same with entertainment, the bars, culture, etc. The mainstream will do some coverage, and more frequently now does include gays in coverage of, for example, a home and design issue. But they just do not have the space or access to do the kind of depth a weekly gay newspaper, with a Web site updated daily, can do. This is no different than any "niche," for example African-American, Latino, Asian, women's etc.

Also, I would say as a whole the mainstream media has not done a good job of covering the diversity of the LGBT community: it's still mostly white gay men. Even most LGBT media are not very diverse, but we pride ourselves at Windy City Times in trying to cover all aspects of the community.

Renaissance Woman: Q&A with Windy City Media Group Publisher Tracy Baim

Hello and welcome to Pride Month on the Out Front Blog! Today, I’m pleased to present the first in our series of Pride-focused Q&As. Today’s conversation is with our friend Tracy Baim, publisher and executive editor of the Windy City Media Group (WCMG) in Chicago. 

WCMG is Chicago’s largest chain of gay and lesbian publications and reaches 50,000 readers with its weekly newspaper Windy City Times (founded in 1985), and numerous other media properties online, in print and over the air. This year marks Tracy’s 25th anniversary in LGBT media. She’s a true media and communications pioneer.

And if that’s not enough, Tracy also served in a leadership capacity for Gay Games VII in Chicago (when she was our client) and the founder of the Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Tracy is an accomplished business person, movie producer (more on that later) and out lesbian. 

Tracy had so much to share with us that we have cut our conversation into two parts. Today, part one of our conversation focuses on the Windy City Media Group and pride. Tomorrow, part two looks at broader media trends.

We’ve been pleased to call Tracy client, colleague and friend. I think that after reading her Q&A, you’ll just call her “brilliant.” And I think you’ll agree: she is a true Renaissance Woman.

Ben Finzel:  Tell us a bit about Windy City Times and your other media endeavors (including the upcoming film “Hannah Free” which you produced that opens this month).

Tracy Baim: I was a co-founder of Windy City Times newspaper in 1985, with three gay men. For 24 years, WCT has served the Chicago-area LGBT communities as a weekly newspaper. I left in 1987 and for 13 years ran a newspaper called Outlines in Chicago, but then purchased Windy City Times back from one of the co-founders in 2000. WCT has adapted and changed many times over the years. We have a significant Web presence, and enhance our community coverage through a bi-weekly club guide called Nightspots, which was founded almost 20 years ago, as well as online content through Windy City Queercast, QueerTVNetwork.com, Identity, Out! Guide, and articles and photos online that do not appear in our print publications.

Windy City Times is an award-winning newspaper which covers local, national and international news, features, entertainment, sports and more. We have dozens of reporters and photographers based around the country covering our community through first-hand accounts. We also have bloggers, videographers, radio co-hosts and a wide range of voices in all of our media.

In 2007, I launched ChicagoGayHistory.org as a labor of love, to start a video oral and written history project for Chicago. I interviewed more than 270 people on video, and the Web site started in early 2008. At the same time, WTTW public TV in Chicago was working on a documentary, Out and Proud in Chicago, and I consulted for them and provided hundreds of photos. As a result of that collaboration, a publisher approached me to do a book, and the result is Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Movement, a glossy, 4-color book with more than 150 articles covering 200+ years of Chicago's LGBT history. I edited and co-wrote the book, which is the first comprehensive overview of Chicago's LGBT community.

In 2008, I partnered with writer Claudia Allen and director Wendy Jo Carlton to work on a lesbian feature film, Hannah Free. The film, which stars Sharon Gless (Cagney and Lacey, Queer As Folk, Burn Notice) and some amazing Chicago-based actors, has its world premiere at the oldest LGBT film fest in the world, Frameline, on Pride Sunday, June 28, in San Francisco, at the Castro Theatre. I am executive producer of the film, which is a flashback, period piece about the more than six-decade-long relationship between two women. While newspapers and journalism are my love, I also realize that movies have a long-lasting impact on the way we see ourselves, and how society sees our lives. I wanted to show a new side to lesbian lives, especially among different generations.

Ben Finzel: How are you covering pride – both the month and accompanying announcements and the actual events – this year? What has changed in your coverage over the past few years?

Tracy Baim: We cover all aspects of the LGBT community, by both listing and promoting events ahead of time, and then covering them as they happen. Because we now have video, we will be adding that to our pride coverage for the first time. We also have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, and we will use those to promote what we are doing on our Web site.

I think the LGBT press can still provide a unique role of gathering together information from a wide range of groups and making sure they get their information out in a comprehensive way to the wider LGBT community. The Internet makes it easy for groups to promote among their core followers, but a media company provides a "one-stop" location for seeing all that is happening.

In covering pride, the mainstream can only do so much. We can run a lot more in our print and online editions.

Ben Finzel: Are you seeing the same level of corporate involvement in Pride celebrations as you have in previous years? Beyond the economic impacts of this terrible economy, how does your pride-related advertising this June compare to last June?

Tracy Baim: The Pride Parade itself seems to have more and more corporate participation. However, those corporations, a lot of them, still just think having a float in a parade is "outreach." Many of them are still afraid to brand with print and Web advertising to the LGBT market. So, unfortunately, I have not seen much growth in the courage of brands to do a comprehensive campaign to target LGBTs. There are so many who still just tippy-toe into the community one Pride day a year. That is no way to market. They know this in every other market, but they do not use that same basic marketing 101 in working the LGBT market.

There are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions.

Ben Finzel: Tracy, thank you for making the point we so often make about the importance of understanding how to “do a comprehensive campaign to target LGBTs.”  Tippy-toe doesn’t cut it, and your real-world advice in this regard is really important. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our two-part conversation with Tracy. In tomorrow’s post, Tracy talks about “mainstream” media and consolidation (or lack thereof) in the LGBT media community.

The Values Proposition: More Q&A with Mitchell Gold

Today we present the conclusion of our two part Q&A with businessman and LGBT visionary Mitchell Gold. In this part of our conversation, Mitchell talks about his book, CRISIS, and about the importance of being out in business. For more on Mitchell, check out his company’s Web site.

Ben Finzel: We’ve talked a bit on this blog about CRISIS, your groundbreaking book of 40 essays by famous people recounting the price they paid for society’s homophobia. When I met you last year, you told me the book was the most important thing you’ve ever done. Tell us a bit about the book and why it is so important.

Mitchell Gold: First, it is 30 essays of a diverse group of very well known to fairly well known and accomplished people. There are also ten essays from not particularly well known young people under 23 years old. I wanted to make sure to have young people because I know there is a misconception by some that everything is getting better and easier. That might be true for some, but for the vast majority it really isn’t.

CRISIS is important because it gives the LGBT civil rights movement an effective and previously unused way to communicate why full and equal rights are so important to our community. Over the past 4 years I’ve learned that many well meaning people just don’t know the horrible harm that is caused to gay teenagers. Their vote, their church, their family and friends could be causing this harm and if they don’t know about it in the clearest of terms they will never know it and be able to do something about it. We always look for a silver bullet message to get people to change and this is it. This book is transformational. Let me share two true stories:

1) A few days ago I was in Puerto Rico having dinner with a customer who is about 45 years old, a Republican delegate for John McCain, Catholic and recently the father of twin boys. I gave him a copy of CRISIS last October after a dinner where I learned he was a delegate and supporter of McCain with the inscription “May Alfredo and Alberto grow up crisis free.”  As I gave him the book I told him John McCain would be devastating for gay kids in the future because of the potential Supreme Court appointees and the general climate of rejection he would allow….especially with Sarah Palin and her fundamentalist Christian views. I asked him to read the book before the election and think about what kind of world he wants his kids to grow up in…regardless of what their sexual orientation happens to be. 

At our dinner a few days ago he told me he was touched by the inscription and did read the book before the election and consequently changed his position. Even more interesting he told me that he showed his 81 year old mother the book and read from the chapters about Catholics. After some discussion he told me she has now totally changed her views on gay people.

2) In a few weeks there will be an article published in a well known mainstream Christian publication by a well known Evangelical Christian minister and professor of ethics. I can’t disclose much from the article yet but here are a couple of quick quotes:

“Crisis tells the sad stories of dozens of young people….. How often they have been left broken by their fundamental rejection as human beings—at the hands of Christians, and in the name of the Bible.”

“Obviously we must extend such basic acceptance, such human and Christian love.”

“But after reading these stories, it seems to me that Christians have something to request from God, and from the gays and lesbians among us. We need forgiveness.”  

Ben Finzel: We frequently blog about the importance of public figures coming out and sharing the realities of their lives – our lives – with society at large. We’re making some progress in this regard with more people coming out, but there are still some fields, including business, where out leaders are few and far between. Do you wish more business leaders would come out? What do you think it will take for that to happen?

Mitchell Gold: Yes, of course every business leader has to come out. And then they have to do a great job.

We have to have a society where being gay is just simply a normal part of a human’s being and life. It has to stop being such a big deal. And that will happen when fundamentalist anti-gay religious groups stop trying to put themselves in superior positions to others, stop being judgmental, and stop interpreting their sacred books to doing these things.

A big part of this responsibility lies within our own community. Our organizations have to teach the simple truths about our lives, that sexual orientation is not some promiscuous choice, but rather a wonderful natural part of our creation. And we have to remind people that people have been hurt in the name of religious beliefs before and it is wicked. June 20, 1995 is the date that the Southern Baptist Convention issued a formal apology to Black Americans for the Southern Baptist Convention’s role in supporting the horrors of slavery and segregation. Let’s all join together in commending the SBC for recognizing their past mistake with a wink to think about the ones they do today.

Ben Finzel: Mitchell, thanks again for your willingness to share your thoughts with us. I think you’ve made the value proposition of being out, honest and direct very clear. And I think you’ve given us all a path to follow as we consider our own actions and perceptions. Here’s to many more years of success.

The Values Proposition: Q&A with Mitchell Gold

We’ve now conducted Q&As with about 30 people in the two and half year history of the Out Front Blog. I have many favorites among them – Billie Jean King was a real highlight – and this one will definitely join that list as an outstanding example of clear, decisive leadership and vision both for business and the future of our community.

Today, we’re starting a two part Q&A with Mitchell Gold, eponymous founder of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. For the uninitiated, Mitchell’s company makes stylish, sustainable, fabulous furniture. We’re fortunate to have a Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams store in D.C. and I love shopping there.

But Mitchell Gold is more than a furniture impresario. He’s a business leader, author and community activist. And his community is more than just his home in North Carolina (although he’s active there as well) – it’s the LGBT community across the country. Mitchell is active in a number of organizations and frequently participates in LGBT events in cities across the country. It was at one of those events that I met him last year – the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NLGJA) holiday party in Washington. Ever gracious, Mitchell not only stopped to talk with my partner and me at the party, but remembered me when I followed up with an e mail to ask him to conduct this Q&A with us.

Mitchell will be back in D.C. this week to accept a lifetime achievement award from PEN – the local LGBT chamber of commerce. It’s a richly deserved honor. Take a look at our conversation today about consumer loyalty and business values and you’ll see why. And come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our conversation along with a little breaking news from Mitchell that may make you want to run right out and buy a copy of his book, CRISIS (if you haven’t already).

Ben Finzel: We often blog about the importance of loyalty to our community by marketers seeking to reach our community. The premise is that companies that are loyal to us will reap the benefits in loyalty from us, particularly in tough economic times when customer loyalty and brand power can make a difference in economic performance. How important do you think that is now, given the dire state of our economy? 

Sweet Travel: Q&A with Sweet CEO Shannon Wentworth

  Just last year, Sweet, a lesbian travel company, emerged to offer our traveling community another vacation option which encompasses sea, land, domestic and international destinations. You may already be familiar with them as a result of their recently announced partnership with Southwest Airlines, or from the media love they’ve been getting for placing an importance on “voluntourism” and carbon-free cruising.

Shannon Wentworth, 36-year-old CEO and co-founder of Sweet kindly reached out to us and we are happy to have the opportunity to conduct this Q&A with her.

Ivette López:  You are just about year old and entered the market at the brink of the economic downturn – what steps have you taken to introduce Sweet to the gay and lesbian market and what sort of response have you received?

Shannon Wentworth: Since launching Sweet at Club Skirts’ Dinah Shore in April 2008, we’ve sponsored over 50 lesbian events, aired a commercial on LOGO, advertised in most of the lesbian magazines and Web sites in the United States and have had had tons of exposure in the print and online media (most notably, a story in The New York Times). The response to Sweet is overwhelming. Seriously, pinch me. It feels like the best dream. We’ve been received with open arms by the LGBT community and media, as well as by the mainstream business community and media.

Ivette López Sisniega: I see you have profiles on Facebook and MySpace. Can we expect to see Sweet embark on a digital project to connect with your customer base?

Shannon Wentworth: Sweet wants to connect with its future guests wherever they hang out and it so happens that tons of them are on MySpace and Facebook – both which are great tools to get to know people. While Sweet plans to always use technology to reduce the use of natural resources (i.e., more e-mail than direct mail), we don’t have plans to launch our own social network. Our website, www.discoversweet.com is rich with cool web 2.0 features, like the ability to upload a blog item directly to your favorite social network, an RSS feed, our events calendar and the Sweet jukebox. We also launched our Sweet community forum recently.

Ivette López Sisniega: Congratulations on your recent partnership with Southwest Airlines. Would you mind walking us through the process in selecting them? Did you consider other airline partners?

Shannon Wentworth: We were looking for an airline partner that provided both value and service. After speaking with several airlines, we found Southwest to be the best and most enthusiastic partner. Southwest’s commitment to customer service and customer-friendly policies is a wonderful fit for Sweet. Southwest shares our commitment to the lesbian and gay community and to the environment.

Ivette López Sisniega: I love the idea of volunteer-oriented “voluntourism” vacations. How was that was inspired and why you think that’s a great fit for the gay and lesbian market?

Shannon Wentworth: We think the idea of having a blast while leaving the world a better place is totally Sweet. In addition to hosting off-the-hook parties on board with a high-profile promoter like Club Skirts, makers of the legendary Dinah Shore Weekend, and offering amazing performances by superstar lesbian comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer, “Last Comic Standing” semi-finalist Erin Foley, comedians Gloria Bigelow and Sandra Valls and music by award-winning singer-songwriters Jen Foster and Edie Carey, we’re offsetting all of our carbon emissions, doing volunteer projects in the ports we visit and matching our guests’ philanthropic contributions. So far, the lesbian community loves the idea of a fun-filled vacation with a purpose.

We certainly hope to see great things from our friends at Sweet and wish them the best as their plans begin to take off! To learn more about Shannon and the rest of the “Sweet” staff and concepts, be sure to check out their site.

The Front Runner 35 Years On: Q&A with Author Patricia Nell Warren

LGBT literature is an often overlooked influencer of opinion and attitudes. Even in an age when we communicate both frequently and instantaneously, the value and significance of a good book should not be underestimated. Literature often shapes who we are and how we perceive our place in the world. And for those of us who came out before the Internet, books were often one of the only tools we had to determine that we were not alone in this world. I can remember reading The Best Little Boy in the World and breathing a huge sigh of relief that there were others out there who felt as I did. Literature matters. 
 
Patricia Nell Warren’s book The Front Runner is a seminal work of gay and lesbian literature. Published thirty five years ago, the book is an examination of sports and homosexuality that still provides much to think about in today’s far more complex world.

In the wake of last week's conversation about Michael Phelps, Matthew Mitcham and homophobia in sports, I was thrilled to be able to put a few questions about sports, literature and our community to Patricia Nell Warren. As you’ll see, Patricia has a lot to say not just about homophobia and sports, but about the state of LGBT literature.

[Patricia Nell Warren photo by Greg Zabilski, courtesy of the author]

Ben Finzel: You wrote The Front Runner in a vastly different era for gay and lesbian people. How much of what the characters experienced is still relevant today, more than 30 years later?

Patricia Nell Warren: In the world of sports, a notable shift of attitude has taken place with the Olympic Games. The IOC now doesn't object to openly LGBT athletes competing -- there were 11 at Athens, and more than 11 (I'm not sure of the exact total) at Beijing. Recently the IOC changed its rules to allow transgendered athletes to compete, providing they meet certain parameters.

But on the U.S. national level, many of the old problems are still there -- especially in team sports, where a closeted athlete can feel the combined homophobic pressures from teammates, coaches, athletic department heads, university presidents, team owners, corporate sponsors, sports bodies, right-wing sports media...and of course the fans. 

The Voice of LGBT Business: More Q&A with NGLCC Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson

Yesterday, we began a conversation with National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson about the organization and the role of LGBT marketing in an economic downturn. Today, we conclude our conversation with Justin's thoughts on corporate engagement and future trends.

Ben Finzel: NGLCC has an enviable list of corporate partners and you've made real inroads into corporate America in just a few years. What do your partners tell you about this marketplace? What have you learned from them in terms of how to communicate the value and worth of our marketplace?

Justin Nelson: I like to start almost every conversation with “diversity also means diversifying your revenue stream.” And now that I have their attention, we can move on. The NGLCC has always understood that companies will do the right thing sometimes, but will do what makes business sense all the time. We present companies with a strong business case for being involved. The bottom line matters and educating corporate America how we fit into theirs has been paramount to our success. Along the way, many of our partners have learned that by doing the smart business thing — whether or not they knew it then — also means they are doing the right thing. This is almost the reverse of what has been talked about for so many years and by so many people. 

The Voice of LGBT Business: Q&A with NGLCC Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson

We’ve been looking for an opportunity to conduct a Q&A with our friend Justin Nelson for a long time. As the co-founder and president of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), Justin is among the leaders in corporate engagement with our community across the country. As a leading voice for the potential and power of LGBT businesses, Justin sees the impact of such engagement first-hand. 

With the holiday shopping season and an economic recession upon us, now seemed to be the perfect time to talk with Justin about LGBT business issues and get his perspective on the future. We had so much to talk about with Justin that we’re going to break this Q&A into two parts: today, we talk about the inspiration for the NGLCC and the role of LGBT marketing in an economic downturn. Come back tomorrow for a look at the role of corporate partners in LGBT marketing and Justin’s take on future trends. 

To learn more about Justin and the NGLCC, visit their Web site.

Ben Finzel: How did the idea of a national chamber of commerce for the LGBT community come to you and Chance Mitchell, your co-founder? What was the inspiration?

Justin Nelson: We were talking about the movement for LGBT equality and the fact that no one was talking about the economic contributions of the segment or the opportunities for doing business with the segment. It seemed like a huge piece of the equality pie that no one was addressing. From my time as a staff person in the United States Senate several years ago, I had seen how the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had become an economic force for good for Hispanic businesses as well as a policy powerhouse in front of Washington policy makers. Chance and I believed that we could duplicate that for the LGBT community by founding the NGLCC.

Lens on the Movement: Q&A with Photojournalist Jerry Pritikin

Photojournalist Jerry Pritikin now calls Chicago home again, although he resided in San Francisco from the early 1960s through the 1980s, with a front row seat during the country’s gay rights movement currently documented in the movie Milk. In the early 1970s as a freelance photographer and publicist, Jerry was somewhat of a pioneer, specializing in photography for gay clients and businesses. As a result, he became involved in the gay rights movement, including politics and the first gay sports leagues.  His images have appeared in books, including Randy Shilts’ The Mayor of Castro Street, as well as documentaries and numerous photo exhibits. His images of Harvey Milk and San Francisco will be featured in UK's Wonderland Magazine this month.   Jerry’s stories and images of his days in San Francisco also can be found here.  

Having recently completed an exhibit at Chicago’s Center on Halsted and preparing to show his works in January at the city’s Gerber/Hart Library, Jerry took time to reflect on his career and his connection to gay movement icon Harvey Milk. 

Steve:You were working as a photojournalist in San Francisco during the start of the gay rights movement. Did you have any idea that your photos at the time would become a sort of documentation of that movement?

Jerry: I never thought that I was recording history in the making, in fact , most of us were only interested in the "now" and changing the status quo. By osmosis, I became involved in gay politics and sports league movement at a time when it was not yet fashionable to be openly gay, even in San Francisco.

Steve:How has gay and lesbian-produced media changed from the 1970s to now?

Jerry: The early gay magazines and newspapers were back room operations that seldom paid their workers. I found that being a freelancer usually meant that publishers expected story and photo submissions to be given to them free. Today, especially for gay journalists, there are unions and professional organizations to represent their work and worth. Today, with the Internet, it is easier to get your story out now, through blogs and syndication services.

Communications in Canada: More Q&A with Out in Canada Editor Randall Shirley

Yesterday, I began a conversation with journalist Randall Shirley about gay and lesbian communications in Canada. An American by birth, Randall now lives in Canada, giving him a two-country perspective on media and communications. In the conclusion to our conversation today, Randall provides insight into mainstream media, blogs and the future of LGBT media in Canada.

Ben Finzel: How does so-called "mainstream" media in Canada cover gay and lesbian communications issues?  Do you find yourselves covering things they don't? Are there any similarities in what you deem newsworthy? 

Randall Shirley: Mainstream media does give our community coverage. But gay media is more likely to chase the handful of “news” stories that mainstream doesn’t—like in-depth coverage of a bashing or human rights issue. As for the publication I edit, we cover things differently in that we speak from a different—and very gay—voice. Our writers look for the gay angle to a place. Gays quite often see a place differently from straights. For example, there’s a section of the Berlin Wall in a Montréal public space. One of my gay writers recently paused at that spot, writing that it reminds him how lucky we are to live in a society where we can be openly gay. Mainstream item, gay perspective. I think it’s very important to remember that we’re gay, and we have many differences in the way we live. I can only speak as a gay man, but I notice that we still have our gay lingo: we still talk about sex differently than straight people (and perhaps more), we’re more-free with some of our personal information. For instance, when’s the last time you heard a straight person admit, over cocktails, in a group, with their spouse present, that they have an “open relationship.” I hear that all the time. And I see evidence of our differences in Canadian gay publications, to varying degrees.

Ben Finzel: What is the role of blogs in the Canadian media landscape?  How have blogs changed the way LGBT media operates in the country?

Randall Shirley: I can’t say if blogs, per se, have changed the landscape as much as the overall growth of social networking and instant communication. I don’t think this is unique to Canada.
 
Ben Finzel: What do you think the future holds for LGBT media in Canada?

Randall Shirley: In the short term, I think GLBT media will continue to thrive—either as print or electronic—because at the end of the day, gay people are different. We want equal rights, but that doesn’t mean many of us want to be the same. So media that speaks to who we are and how we live our lives will continue to be important. I think that in all countries it’s important that each generation passes our stories and information on to the younger generations, and we will all need to figure out ways to use developing media technologies to do so. Canadians are not Americans, and most don’t want to be. This is a fairly distinct society with its own stories and interests. Sure, there are a lot of cultural similarities, but Canadians will always want media outlets that speak to them.

Ben Finzel: Thanks Randall. As usual, we have learned something (many things, actually), from talking with a journalist with a unique point of view. Your insight and perspective should be helpful for anyone thinking of conducting outreach in the Canadian market. 

Photo courtesy of Randall Shirley.

Communications in Canada: Q&A with Out in Canada Editor Randall Shirley

As I’ve mentioned before, I was fortunate enough to participate in the 9th International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism in Vancouver last month. In addition to presenting a workshop at the conference (more on that in a future post), I had the pleasure of serving as moderator of a panel on working with the media.

One of the participants in the panel discussion was freelance travel journalist Randall Shirley. Randall is editor of Canada’s major LGBT travel magazine, Out in Canada, and editor of the stories and blog section of www.meetmeonboard.com, a U.S.-based site which helps gay cruise passengers connect. Randall’s work also appears in such publications as The Boston Globe and Dallas Morning News. He grew up on a potato farm in Rexburg, Idaho and now lives in Vancouver, BC with his partner Kevin. 

As is generally the case, whenever I meet someone interesting, I ask them to participate in blog Q&A with us. Randall was no exception and I’m very happy he agreed to my request. Randall’s insight and experience provide a really useful snapshot of Canadian communications from an American perspective.  And as many of us in the U.S. prepare to travel home for the Thanksgiving holiday, we thought it might be interesting to present a point of view on travel from a different perspective.

This is another two-part interview. Today, we talk about differences in media and marketing. Come back tomorrow for a look at mainstream media, blogs and the future for LGBT media in Canada. 
 
Ben Finzel: What are the differences in gay media in Canada and the U.S.? Do you communicate with our community any differently in Canada than in the U.S.? 

Randall Shirley: In Canada, “gay” is not much of an issue these days. Of course, we still have problems—the occasional bashing, small town gays who feel they can’t come out, etc.—but overall, Canadian society is more accepting. We do have nationwide gay marriage, after all! How does this apply to gay media? Well, it means we can devote more time to daily life stories and less time to politics. As an American who has lived in Canada for many years, I actually find U.S. media less and less relevant to my daily life. When I read The Advocate, for instance, it seems the stories are often of equality and political issues Canadians dealt with many years ago.
 
Ben Finzel: How do companies market to LGBT people via the media in Canada?  What are the common activities they undertake and how are they received by LGBT consumers?

Randall Shirley: Companies market to GLBT Canadians the same way you would expect—via gay media outlets. Since I cover travel, I particularly notice that Canadian travel providers are very savvy at using PR and media relations as a major tool to tell their stories. And of course they use paid advertising, too, including both traditional media and new media. Surprisingly, some companies have even tried marketing via mainstream media. A high-end gay matchmaking service called Entre-Nous¬ has placed paid advertising in Canada’s venerable national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. And hook-up companies like CruiseLine advertise on billboards in surprising towns like Calgary. How are they received? Gay Canadians are smart, and we know that within our country most companies would be glad to have our business. We also know when we’re being pandered to. At the end of the day, I think we appreciated being marketed to, but that alone doesn’t guarantee our loyalty as customers because we have so many business owners in this country who are truly gay-friendly. Personally, I look for value and customer service, and if I can find that in a business, I will become a customer. Of course there are gay-focused businesses—bars, restaurants, some shops, B&Bs, etc.—who provide options straight-owned businesses simply can’t. And when we want those options, it’s nice to have them.

Ben Finzel: Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our conversation with Randall Shirley.

Photo courtesy of Randall Shirley.

Family of Choice - More Q&A with RainbowVision Properties President and CEO Joy Silver

Yesterday, we began a fascinating conversation with Joy Silver, president of RainbowVision Properties, about the LGBT community and aging. Today, we conclude that conversation with a look at messaging and trends. 

Ben Finzel: What messaging do you think is most effective with our community? How do you talk about aging and the need to prepare for the future with an audience that doesn't always want to think about tomorrow? 

Joy Silver: We have always known that we need to take care of ourselves. Ensuring our elder years is the most important aspect of our lives. This tells us that aging has to be contextualized differently, and that the elements involved in aging challenges may require a new perspective. The new perspective might then rely on the power of personal decision-making, prevention, and the redefinition of aging itself. We need more progressive images of all of our life stages in all of GLBT media. We need more stories, we need more models and visual images, we need more news and information. Much like the mainstream media we seem to want images of those so much younger than our actual age. But the mainstream population has more options to help guide them smoothly in to senior years. Many of their own lives are intergenerational, there are roles defined like grandmother or Chairman of the Board. There is a sense of belonging regardless of age. If we feel important to the community, if we have a good family of choice, if we have great role models then we will feel more comfortable in our skins. Just look at what AARP The Magazine is doing to enhance the wonderful concept of adult years. We GLBT people now have some terrific role models, sensational stories and successful lives. 

Family of Choice: Q&A with RainbowVision Properties President and CEO Joy Silver

We’ve blogged about gayby boomers and gay aging issues quite a few times lately. Recent stories in Newsweek and The New York Times have helped to boost interest and engagement in important questions about how we deal with aging and related issues in our community and what resources there are for us now and in the future. This is a topic of particular interest to me, and I thought I’d use this opportunity to go back to our friend (and former client) Joy Silver of RainbowVision Properties to get a new perspective on this always-significant communications issue.

As we get ready for the Thanksgiving holiday, I found Joy’s thoughts about creating a Family of Choice really interesting – isn’t that we do in our daily lives, to some extent?  Joy’s insight and experience is not only interesting, but immensely helpful to anyone thinking about communicating to gayby boomers and their older counterparts.

What follows is Part One of our two-part conversation with Joy. Today’s conversation focuses on the evolution of RainbowVision’s business and the challenges of communicating on aging issues. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at messaging and future trends. 

Ben Finzel: Your property in Santa Fe has been open for a few years now. How is it going? What has surprised you about how your business has evolved in the past few years?

Joy Silver: We officially opened in June of 2006 in Santa Fe NM, with ribbon cutting that included elected officials like Gov. Bill Richardson, and Santa Fe Mayor David Coss.  Interestingly, the Santa Fe GLBT community has shown interest in having their blood relatives and loved ones live with us in The Castro, which is our Assisted Living. What surprises other people, although we expected this to be true, is the range of ages our members make up. The youngest is 44 and the oldest is 96. We see our population doing great advance planning for their futures - we get requests for information from people in their 30’s and 40’s. RainbowVision Santa Fe is an open and inclusive GLBT- majority community. We do encourage our allies to consider us as we believe a diverse community is the most interesting. We are a living laboratory, and our community members serve as an onsite focus group. We have benefited from the input of our members as to all aspects of living: wellness, physical fitness, dining, and events. What we have learned, and continue to learn, will be incorporated into our future communities as well.

Traveling While Lesbian: Q&A with Girlports President Tanya Churchmuch

Our friend Tanya Churchmuch founded girlports.com a year ago this month. As you’ll see in our conversation below, the site is the first lesbian travel Web site of its kind and Tanya has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. To help her celebrate her first anniversary, we thought we’d conduct another Q&A with her to learn more about communicating with lesbian travelers and the future of travel from her perspective.

Ben Finzel: Why did you start girlports.com? Weren't there already other resources for lesbian travelers online?

Tanya Churchmuch: Incredibly enough, there weren’t. Girlports is the one and only lesbian travel information website that exists. I’d always been an avid traveler, for both work (as a television journalist for more than a decade) and pleasure, and it had been a real thorn in my side that there were no easily available, up-to-date online travel resources for lesbians. A lot of sites say they’re for gay men and lesbians, but in reality about 90% of that content is aimed at men. Gay men have tons of information available to them online, and I thought it was time that gay women do too. That’s why I decided to create Girlports.

Ben Finzel: What kind of reception have you had in the year since you've been online? Is your traffic growing?

Tanya Churchmuch: I’m so happy to say that I’ve had a fantastic reception since Girlports launched back in October 2007. In the LGBT travel industry, which really is quite small, I’ve already become recognized as somewhat of a specialist in regards to lesbian travel. To that end, I’ve been invited to speak at both the recent IGLTA convention in Las Vegas and the Community Marketing Gay and Lesbian Tourism conference in Vancouver. The public reception has also been quite positive and definitely, the number of unique visitors continues to grow.

Ben Finzel: What kind of reaction do you get from convention and visitors bureaus, airlines, hotels and other tourism service providers when you tell them what you do?

Speaking the Truth With Passion: More Q&A with Tico Valle of Chicago’s Center on Halsted

We’re concluding our conversation with our client, Tico Valle, executive director at the Center on Halsted in Chicago. Today, he’ll give us some insight into the Center’s and his dialogue with local communities and how communication is critical for equality and collaboration.

Bryan: As you mentioned yesterday, the Center has expanded services, size – everything in the past six years. What is Center on Halsted doing today or in the future to expand the dialogue with Chicago’s business, civic and minority communities? 

Tico: A central tenet of the Center’s mission extols us to serve as a catalyst for the community. We have seen the power of bringing people together in person, and leverage that interpersonal communication through Town Hall meetings, trainings and various cultural events. I believe that everyone deserve a place at the table and a safe place in which they can express themselves, reach out to others and learn to respect and celebrate our magnificent diversity.

Bryan: Those face-to-face conversations are critical, especially with today’s blogging and social networking. Has the Center engaged in digital conversations?

Tico: As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve expanded the technology and training available at the Center. We’re also developing digital outreach campaigns through popular sites such as Facebook. Our research has indicated that Internet search has become the way most people find our hotline services. The Web gives us endless possibilities to connect and impact our community, and I’m excited about the many new things we have planned in this area for the Center.

Bryan: Well, the Center has definitely built a buzz and you truly are creating those important conversations in person and online. To close, I’m interested in what specific communications lessons you have learned in your career history. Have those lessons shaped the way you and the Center communicate with the LGBT community and Chicago at large?

Tico: The most important communication lesson I have learned is to always speak the truth with passion—each informs the other. Listeners are moved to act by hearing stories about the lives that are positively affected every day by their support. There is so much good will, generosity, and energy in our community and that of our allies. Many times, people just need to know what they can do to help, so we tell the community what our clients’ needs are and they respond unselfishly. Another very important communication lesson that I keep in the front of my mind is to listen first.

Bryan: Thank you, Tico. We appreciate your willingness to share your history and insights with us. We wish the best for The Center on Halsted, your programs, your clients and your staff.

Heritage and Pride: Q&A with the Chicago Center on Halsted’s Executive Director Tico Valle

This Wednesday brings to a close the celebration of Hispanic Heritage month. We’ve blogged before on the unique opportunities, perspectives and challenges faced by LGBT Hispanics, such as Ivette’s recent posts on Hispanic celebrities supporting our community and HIV rates among Hispanic males.

Recently, we were able to conduct a Q&A with our current client Modesto “Tico” Valle of the Center on Halsted, Chicago’s premier LGBT community center. As one of the only Hispanic executive directors of LGBT centers in the country – and the first to head a major LGBT center in the U.S. – Tico has a unique view on bringing together diverse communities, while serving as a successful role model in Chicago’s LGBT, Hispanic and Latino, and business communities.

As in previous Q&As, we’ve broken this post into two parts: today, Tico will talk about his history and career path that has led to his leadership position today at the Center. Tomorrow, we’ll switch and focus on the role communications, both traditional and digital, are playing in the Center’s prominence in Chicago. For more information about Tico and the Center on Halsted, please visit their Web site at www.centeronhalsted.org.

Bryan: You have a long history in Chicago and with the Center on Halsted – back when it was called Horizons. How have things changed at the Center since you first began working at Horizons more than six years ago?

Tico: To say we’ve grown doesn’t fully capture the expanded services, size and support the Center’s seen in the past six years. We have enhanced our existing social service programs, expanded our client capacity, and hired more Spanish-speaking staff. Some of the new programs we’ve added include our Community Cultural initiative, the Community Technology Center, HIV Testing & Prevention Services, recreation programs and employment support for our youth. We’re now serving about 1,500 people who visit the Center daily, so our new, diversified programs and support staff better meet the needs of our visitor base. Our staff feeds off each other’s efforts and we enjoy the focused, generous support from our community.

Bryan: Well, being one of the only Hispanic executive directors of an LGBT community center definitely is quite the accomplishment. However, I’m sure being a gay Hispanic male presented and still can provide both opportunities and potential challenges. How have you addressed being a "double-minority" (racial and sexual) in your career path?

Tico: For me, challenges are just hidden opportunities – opportunities to ask for help, collaborate with others, and discover an individuality that sets you apart. I see uniqueness in my “double-minority” status, and choose to use it to positively achieve change and collaboration within our community. It has enabled me to be a voice for more than one marginalized community, while setting an example that clearly shows both people of color and LGBT individuals what is possible with hard work, education and determination.

Bryan: Well, you clearly are setting that bar high. Could you elaborate on the key learnings you’ve taken from your experiences that possibly provide you greater insight into being a better community resource for Chicago LGBT and Hispanic communities?

Tico: I have always believed in the power of mentorship. The ability to guide and educate another person in personal and professional matters ultimately builds stronger, healthier communities. Mentorship provides a safe place for learning between generations and really builds interpersonal skills essential for success in life and business. It also is a corner stone for responsive leadership – the ability to listen, learn and act for the better.

Bryan: Thanks, Tico. I’m looking forward to seeing how these personal lessons and perspectives have shaped the communications outreach and activities at the Center.

Come back tomorrow for the second part of our Q&A with Tico Valle of the Center on Halsted.

Q&A with Ernst & Young's Bryan Parsons

I recently sat down with Bryan Parsons, Manager in the Asset Management Practice at Ernst & Young LLP and a Co-Founder of Ernst & Young’s LGBTA (LGBT and Allies!) employee group, Beyond, to discuss the group’s formation and role in the company. With over 1,400 members, Beyond has been instrumental in Ernst & Young being the first of the Big Four professional services firms to receive a 100% rating on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, receiving HRC’s Corporate Equality Award in February 2008, and being named a Top 10 company for LGBT employees by DiversityInc.

Ernst & Young worked with FH Out Front for their Making it Real campaign and we since have handled media relations for them around several events, including this year’s Pride kick-off event with Christine Quinn, openly gay speaker of the New York City Council.

The Making it Real campaign, our first campaign with Ernst & Young, has been one of the most rewarding campaigns that I have worked on. EY held a roundtable with leading companies including Citigroup, Viacom, and JPMorgan Chase to discuss best practices for an LGBT inclusive workplace. The findings resulted in feature stories in The Advocate, The New York Blade, Associated Press, and a two page photo of Beyond members in Fortune's article on being openly gay in the workplace. It’s events like this that I feel separate Ernst & Young from the rest of Corporate America. Rather than just having policies on the books and an inclusive environment within EY’s walls, they aim to spread their message of inclusiveness to the broader business community- helping not only EY employees, but all employees.

Bryan Parsons was one of the founding members of Beyond and is currently on the steering committee. He manages EY’s relationship with HRC and also moderates training sessions for EY employees. Outside of EY, Bryan is on the HRC Business Council, which is responsible for the design and implementation of the Corporate Equality Index and most recently, he was asked to serve as co-chair for HRC’s 2009 Gala Dinner. I also spotted him holding the HRC flag in this year's (very rainy) NYC Pride Parade.

1. How did Beyond begin? How did you position the group to launch it as a firmwide affinity group?

Beyond was officially recognized in November 2003 as part of E&Y’s culture of inclusiveness for all its people. At first Beyond was an informal grassroots network of people connecting – both electronically and at firm events. The group reached out to John Ferraro, Executive Sponsor of Gender and Ethnicity who was doing great inclusiveness work for both of these diversity initiatives. We knew that having an executive sponsor supporting Beyond would take our group to the next level. John was immediately supportive – and remains a strong ally today.

When employees can’t bring their whole selves to work and are spending time hiding information, they’re not putting all of their effort into their work and to our clients. We feel that promoting an open and inclusive environment was not only beneficial to ourselves and our LGBT colleagues, but to the firm as a whole. Our firm also has a strong belief that a diverse workforce that feels comfortable sharing their opinions leads to better solutions for our clients.
 
2. I was able to attend Ernst & Young's Pride Month kick-off event where Christine Quinn, Speaker of NYC Council, spoke at Ernst & Young's Times Square office. What other activities did Ernst & Young plan for Pride month?

Beyond has satellite groups in over 60 offices and many of them are highly involved with local Pride celebrations. Our DC group had a booth at Capitol Pride.  In Pittsburgh they viewed and discussed a movie involving members of the Pittsburgh GLBT Corporate Roundtable  (other companies in Pittsburgh on interested in creating LGBT inclusive workplaces) and also marched in the Pittsburgh Pride Parade.

In New York, we also held a roundtable with executive women to discuss why there are not more out and visible lesbians women in business. We had a great response to the roundtable and other participants included Showtime and Johnson & Johnson.  All told, just about every office with a group did something with activities ranging from providing snacks and posters to more formal speaker events.

We also had an issue of The Daily Connection- our internal firmwide newsletter – that focused on pride and included a Q&A with Chris Crespo, our LGBT Inclusiveness Strategy Leader at Ernst & Young, on its significance.
 
3. During the Pride kickoff event, Christine Quinn mentioned that Corporate America's support of the LGBT community is needed to secure government support of our community. How are programs in Corporate America like EY’s Beyond important to advancing our community?
 
The government looks to businesses to see what kind of positive impact LGBT inclusiveness has had on our microcosm. When you have straight Americans working

Q&A with Pride London's Colm Howard-Lloyd

I had the pleasure of working with Pride volunteer Colm Howard-Lloyd back in 2006 when London hosted the EuroPride festival.

The task of organizing an event which draws crowds of over to 500,000 rivaling many of the world’s most established Pride parades is never an easy one. Our task was to promote the festival to London’s gays and lesbians but also to a wider audience as a celebration of diversity for everyone to enjoy. That was a challenge and a steep learning curve but I am proud of what we achieved.

Since then Colm and his team have made huge strides in the communications machine and most notably this year with a Web site that matches the scale and importance of the event not just to the LGBT community but to London as a global city.

Colm is now Communications Director of Pride London (which takes place this weekend). I asked him about his role, challenges of communicating Pride, how Pride can remain relevant in today’s world and what makes him want to volunteer his time for the charity year after year. Good luck to everyone involved in Pride this weekend and I look forward to seeing overage of the new mayor Boris Johnson’s appearance at the parade!

Eddy Evans: How does Pride London make itself relevant at a time when many landmark victories have been achieved in Britain to gain equal rights for LGBT people? Isn’t it just one big party nowadays?

Colm Howard-Lloyd: It’s important to note that although we’ve come far in the UK, we still have some key areas of inequality, for example civil partnerships offer many but not all of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. As these become more minor, it actually becomes harder as people are often happy to accept nearly-equal; the smaller battles aren’t half as exciting as picketing parliament for a change in the age of consent.

This has meant that the charity has moved to focusing its campaigns (and they definitely are now in the plural) on specific areas that still require change. Last year we proudly supported the first Trans conference bringing together discussion on trans issues and giving them a voice; our football tournament continues to highlight homophobia in sports and work on eliminating it; we are pleased to support realistic rather than worthy campaigns that highlight the genuine dangers of recreational drug use; we are proud to work with other organizations to continue to make safer sex materials unavoidable and we are delighted that, in being the first pride event with an entire stage showcasing the best in black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT culture we will show that racism has no place in Pride.

We also try and highlight that across the world other Prides take place -- or often aren't allowed to take place --  against a much more hostile background. I was part of our delegation to Pride in Riga last summer, where we joined the 500 or so trying to have fun and celebrate. It was clear from the many thousands of riot police dividing us from the corresponding World Alliance Against Homosexuals rally in the city that this was far from a universally welcome parade. That it was allowed at all is mostly due to Latvia's relatively new membership of the EU. You only have to look at Moscow or Moldova to see what happens when a state doesn't even have to grudgingly permit Pride. We want to continue to highlight the successes, and failures of world Pride; we want to continue to provide advice and support and to continue to make sure our own politicians do not turn a blind-eye or be fobbed-off by their foreign counterparts.

I guess, in summary, what I'm getting at is that you don't have to choose between politics and party. You can do both - have a dance in Soho Square, listen to the speakers at the rally in Trafalgar Square, see the acts on the Black, Asian and Ethnic Music stage, even go home at the end and have safer sex (yes, if you need an excuse, you can consider that a political act just this once!). There's a little politics in all of this.

Friend of the Bride

Olivia is the brand that comes to mind first for most people in connection with lesbian travel and entertainment. It is a company that has grown and defined itself with the coming of age of our own community since the early 1970s, after Olivia’s founding as a record label for female artists.  So, when the California same sex ruling was announced a few weeks ago, San Francisco-based Olivia was among the better positioned companies able leverage its marketing efforts quickly toward soon-to-be-wed lesbian couples.

With their own wedding travel package offer underway, Olivia General Manager Lisa Henderson, who also is an FH Out Front client, recently discussed marketing amid the flux of West Coast weddings that began yesterday.

Steve: Olivia is marketing a wedding/honeymoon component of its fall Mexian Rivierra cruise. Do you think honeymoons will become a new growth area for Olivia cruises and land excursions?

Lisa: We would like to be top of mind when someone is planning a honeymoon, or a wedding.  We have been integral in so many of our customers life milestones and celebrations. We’ve been helping the lesbian community celebrate anniversaries, weddings, birthdays and every other special occasion you can imagine for over 35 years.

Steve: Is same-sex marriage in California a marketing platform that both LGBT and non-LGBT companies can leverage equally?

Traveling While Gay: Q&A with Out Traveler Editor Ed Salvato

I love to travel and have been exploring the globe for more than 30 years – ever since I was a young boy going to visit my grandmother in Michigan or my grandparents in Pennsylvania. Today, I subscribe to no fewer than four travel magazines, including LGBT industry leader Out Traveler, the largest circulation gay magazine in the world.

I’m pleased today to welcome Out Traveler editor in chief Ed Salvato to the Out Front Blog. I met Ed at the 8th International Conference on Gay and Lesbian Tourism last year and he readily agreed to my request to participate in a Q&A with us. If you haven’t read Out Traveler in a while, I encourage you to check it out. The current issue features Summer Road Trips and is full of interesting stories and travel news. The magazine recently launched a travel blog as well – Out Traveler GPS (Gay Positioning System) – which provides an additional channel for news, information and views about gay and lesbian travel and tourism.   

Ed has a long history in the travel industry, having been the editor-in-chief of Out & About before joining PlanetOut as travel director in 2000. Our Q&A begins below.

Ben Finzel: Why are gays and lesbians so interested in travel?

Ed Salvato: Gays and lesbians have proven to be tireless, adventurous and resilient travelers, especially after the tragic events of 9/11 for a long period after which many other travelers stayed home. Gay women and men continued to travel, unafraid of vague threats of terrorism. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that gays and lesbians have always faced more concrete threats as well as actual abuse at the hands of mainstream society. We've always traveled and there are many stories of intrepid lesbian and gay men making their way in the gay world. Out Traveler highlights some of these pioneering folks from Christopher Isherwood to Jack Kerouac and many more.

Ben Finzel: Why do you think the travel and tourism industry figured out that we’re a good target years ago when other industries have been slower to catch on?

Ed Salvato: The travel industry is one of the few that actually has a distinct gay component, namely GLBT tour operators, guesthouses, resorts, beaches and the like, unlike say the alcohol or automotive industries. So mainstream tourism officials could see (and calculate) the value of the GLBT travel industry. Further, as I mentioned, after 9/11 polls showed that gays were still traveling and the industry recognized their resiliency and value. Another factor is that the typical profile of the gay traveler is married, both employed and no kids, which equals the lucrative dual-income-no-kids segment, which has both time and money to travel.

A Publisher's Perspective: Q&A with JR Pratts of Instinct

We talk a lot about gay media on this blog and refer often to leading publications in the industry. I’m pleased to start this year’s Q&A series with the publisher of one such publication: JR Pratts of Instinct Magazine. I met JR at the Gay & Lesbian Market Symposium in New York last fall and wasted no time in asking him to agree to a Q&A with us. Fortunately, he said yes. As you’ll see, JR has lots of good advice for marketers and communicators interested in reaching gay male audiences. Full Disclosure: I’m an Instinct Magazine subscriber and consider myself a fan. After reading what JR has to say, I think you’ll see why.

Ben Finzel: I’m not sure many people realize that in ten years you have grown Instinct Magazine into one of the largest circulation gay men’s magazines in the world. How have you done that and what have you learned along the way?

JR Pratts: Yes, after 10 years, Instinct Magazine is the largest Gay Men’s magazine in the US—it’s a great milestone. When we started the magazine in 1997 our main focus was survival. We just wanted our audience to give us a try. 

Instinct Magazine grew its audience through our readership. As soon as we received our first issue from the printer, we took it on the road. We attended a lot of gay events nationwide prompting people to subscribe, and lucky for us, they did! Soon they were persuading their friends to subscribe as well. I think one of the reasons why our editorial focus clicked with our audience was that we offered a different perspective on being gay. When we started Instinct we did our research and found out that the readers wanted to have a magazine that is unapologetically gay but at the same time aesthetically pleasing.  Since we had nothing to lose, we came out with a bang. Yes, our advertisers are Fortune 500 companies, but we are aware of the balance necessary to serve our audience as well as our advertising partners.

I have learned a lot about the business and our community in the last 10 years. The biggest lesson I’ve learned from this experience is not to assume that you know what your readers want just because you are gay. Ask your audience directly what they want to see and provide it for them.

GLAAD Speaks Spanish, Segunda Parte - A Q&A Post

This is part two of our conversation with Chuy Sánchez, GLAAD’s Spanish media strategist. Yesterday, he provided background on culture and programming. Today we will discuss the tactics used when working with Spanish language radio, a topic of special interest to me that I have mentioned before

Ivette Lopez: Last year GLAAD completed its Spanish-language radio professionals training campaign. How were stations and markets chosen? What are some of your highlights?

Chuy Sánchez: Spanish language radio shows have had a long tradition on a national level of representing the LGBT community in a negative sensationalistic manner. Our work with radio is a long term project that requires focused interactions with the General Managers, Producers and hosts.

We’ve also just met with “El Show de Raul Brindis y Pepito” in Houston where they’ve already had a training with GLAAD and now we are working on developing a show that will speak directly on LGBT terminology and the coming out process. It will be a first for the show.

* Gay Segment on Univision Radio Chicago

Spanish Language Media met with El Show de El Pistolero y Memin, the number one rated Spanish Language morning show and number four in ratings of overall morning shows in the Chicago area. We worked in collaboration with Homofrecuencia, the first Spanish-language radio station for LGBT Latino/a youth, to discuss the consequences of defamation and what steps we can take to collaborate so no further defamation takes place. As a result of the meeting, on National Coming Out Day, the show featured a one and a half hour special discussing the effects of coming out on the individual and his/her family. We collaborated with Amigas Latinas,PFLAG in Spanish and Homofrecuencia in discussing the coming out process.

GLAAD has placed itself as an ongoing resource for Univision Radio in Chicago. We are currently planning a training for their second top rated morning show.

* Training with New York’s Top Spanish Language Morning Radio Show

GLAAD’s Spanish Language Media led a training with the hosts of El Vacilon de la Mañana, syndicated live to a number of different markets in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Community members reported defamatory language used in the show and images posted on the show’s official Web site.

We invited Andres Duque, Director of Mano a Mano and Pedro Julio Serrano, Communication Coordinator of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force to discuss the impact of defamation on the community during the training. The show took down the defamatory images from their official Web site and committed to working with local LGBT organization including GLAAD as a resource when dealing with LGBT themes.

Ivette Lopez: How has the Latino LGBT community responded to GLAAD’s Spanish language efforts?

Chuy Sánchez: The Latino/a LGBT community has been key in each interaction that we’ve had with the media. Without their support, guidance and expertise we would not be able to succeed.

Muchísimas gracias Chuy, por tu tiempo y el buen trabajo que haces con tu equipo, definitivamente no es algo facil. Es algo que verdaderamente está fortaleciendo a nuestra comunidad.

GLAAD Speaks Spanish - A Q&A Post

I recently had the opportunity to meet Chuy Sánchez, Spanish language media strategist for GLAAD. He agreed to talk with me about the work GLAAD is doing to raise the profile of gay and lesbian Hispanics in Spanish media representation.  The first part of our two-day conversation follows below.  Come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our conversation.

Ivette Lopez: Why is a Spanish language media component important to GLAAD?

Chuy Sánchez: The needs of the growing Spanish speaking LGBT community in the United States are often ignored or overlooked, and our ability to communicate with or be acknowledged by the media is vastly underdeveloped. In response, GLAAD’s Spanish Language Media Program works to increase the number and quality of LGBT Latino images in Spanish language news and entertainment media to further achieve our goal of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
GLAAD uses a combined strategy of providing media literacy trainings to Latino/a LGBT activists and journalists, garnering media attention for major events, conferences and Pride festivals and exposing defamation when it occurs.

Ivette Lopez: Aside from the language differentiator, what are some additional cultural differences when approaching Spanish language media in regards to GLAAD’s goals?

Chuy Sánchez: Understanding Spanish language media comes down to understanding the Spanish language audience. Spanish language media has historically represented the LGBT community in a sensationalistic and archaic way. The progress made in recent years has been exceptional but there is much more work to be done especially in entertainment.
There is very little solid messaging research on how to talk to Latino audiences. The little that we do know can be summed up as follows:
* First generation Latino Americans typically hold more conservative positions on a number of issues, including the spectrum of gay issues. Similar differences can be seen between Spanish-speaking Latinos versus bilingual or English-speaking Latinos. That said, it’s important not to assume all US born or first-generation Latinos think the same; a host of other issues can all affect their political beliefs and affiliation.
* Latino audiences may respond better than most to messages that emphasize concrete injustices faced by gay people (such as lack of hospital visitation rights, medical leave, etc.)
* There is high support for relationship recognition but lower support for marriage and adoption [from Latino Americans].
* Latino audiences are more swayed than overall moveable middle audiences by messages that emphasize families (e.g., protecting families or avoiding harm to families).

Ivette Lopez: You do a lot of work with Mexican and other international television networks, are there any additional challenges with them?

Chuy Sánchez: We work with international networks with same rigor as we do with our national networks although our primary goal is the representation of the LGBT community in the United States. We’ve worked consistently with Mexico due to the fact that 70% of Spanish language programming seen in the United States is produced in Mexico. The number of programming coming from other Latin American countries is growing and we expect our collaboration with different Latin American countries to grow as well. Our network of LGBT community organizations includes Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and we are working diligently to increase our number of community spokespeople and experts throughout Latin America.

Ivette Lopez: What can marketing and communications professionals do to improve their LGBT outreach with Spanish language media?

Chuy Sánchez: Marketing and communications professionals are one of the links to help us reach our overall goal of changing hearts and minds everywhere and we’ve always included representatives of LGBT Latino/a organizations to speak alongside our organization. We do not work alone, but in collaboration with our constituency.

Tomorrow, come back for specifics of GLAAD’s radio training program which includes some of the most listened Spanish morning shows in the country.

SAGE Advice: Q&A with Michael Adams

Regular readers have probably figured out by now that I think one of the most fascinating gay and lesbian communications challenges is communicating about retirement and aging issues. Reaching “gayby boomers” and other gays and lesbians on these issues requires real insight and understanding of our community and the varied audiences it comprises.  Increasingly, it’s an essential element of many communications programs, particularly as our community ages alongside the general population. 

With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure to add Michael Adams, executive director of SAGE, to our list of Q&A conversations. Michael runs the “the world's oldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender senior citizens.”

SAGE’s mission is summed up in its name: Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders. In the past thirty years of its existence, the organization has been responsible for many firsts that support this mission:

• The nation's first Friendly Visiting program for homebound and frail GLBT elders
• The nation's first GLBT Senior Drop-In Center
• The country's first support group for GLBT seniors with HIV
• The first national conferences devoted to GLBT aging concerns
• The nation's first program dedicated to caregiving services for GLBT seniors

The organization is increasingly recognized as a leader on aging and retirement issues in our community. We recently asked Michael for some “SAGE advice” on these issues and his viewpoints on several trends in the marketplace. Our Q&A follows below.

When It Comes to Breaking Down Barriers, Lou Tharp Makes A Splash

Lou Tharp is an overachiever. After a successful career in New York-based PR firms, he branched out to co-found his own health communications company and recently launched the not-for-profit Global Healthy Living Foundation, which seeks to improve the lives of people with chronic diseases. In his new book, Overachiever's Diary, How The Army Triathlon Team Became World Contenders, this competitive swimmer recounts his experience coaching the cadets at West Point.

While the book focuses on the training regimen of the cadets, it’s remarkable to note that Lou coached as an openly-gay man. Through humor and directness, Lou developed outstanding relationships with cadets, administrators and parents alike.

How did he approach coming out in a presumably gay-unfriendly environment? And what can we, as communicators, learn from his experiences? I caught up with Lou to find out.

FH OutFront: How did you come to find yourself coaching the Army Tri Team?

Lou Tharp: I asked the Colonel who runs the department of physical education if I could use the facilities to train. West Point has the best pool in the area. I told her that I was training for national and international masters swim meets. She agreed to let me use the pool and I was there six days a week.  One day a cadet was swimming in the lane next me and his stroke was so bad I stopped him and said, in the nicest way possible, that his technique was so awful I couldn't focus on my own workout. We spent the next 30 minutes working together. The next day there were two cadets and the following week they invited me to their tri team swim practice. A few weeks later the cadet in charge asked if I would consider being their swim coach. My first reaction was yes, since I'd never coached before in my life, and a Division 1 school isn't a bad place to start. My next thought was, "I'm gay and we'll have to come to terms with it."

FH OutFront: You coach the team as an openly-gay man. How the did the cadets receive this news -- and what surprised you the most about their reactions or perceptions?

Lou Tharp: I didn't know what to expect, and their reaction was totally unexpected. I guess we tend to think the worst because the bigots yell the loudest so we think everyone agrees with them. We forget that the vast majority of people are very gay accepting.

The reaction was a resounding, "So what?" The officer in charge had no problem with it, and when I said I would have to tell the team, he said I must have had to tell people this before so I should know how to handle it. Period. 

When I told the team, it was very casual. I was explaining core body strength and comparing the physiological similarities between throwing a baseball and swimming. I said I could show them how to swim, but I wasn't going to demonstrate how to throw a baseball because as a gay man, I had no idea how. It got a laugh, and afterwards a few people asked if I was really gay. Several told their parents, who can be very involved in cadet life, and when I had the opportunity to meet them, they all commented in a positive way, like, "Oh yeah, you're the gay coach. My son told me about you."

One father whose son graduated in the mid-90s got a copy of Overachiever's Diary and called to say how much he enjoyed reading it. There were silences during the call and I realized he wanted to say something but was having trouble finding the right words. Finally he told me that in addition to his son who graduated, he had another son who wanted to go to West Point, but couldn't because he was gay.

FH OutFront: You have a long history as a PR executive and communications entrepreneur. Based on this experience, what skills were directly applicable to fostering good communication with the team and overcoming any misperceptions about gay people?

Lou Tharp: I'm a very direct person. When I was in PR, my style was to put reality on the table. Honesty goes a long way toward long-term credibility, and at West Point, honesty is valued above all. My partner, Jim, goes to team parties with me, and I try to remain open to questions that will help everyone understand the difference between orientation and behavior. Behavior is regulated by policy and individual values, orientation is how you look at the world.

FH OutFront: Is there a larger lesson from your experience at West Point that LGBT communicators can learn when it comes to communicating to audiences that may have an anti-gay perspective or simply be under-educated about gay people?

Lou Tharp: Cadets get it. They've grown up with gay kids in their high school, community centers and neighborhoods. This is why the under-30s are in favor of gay marriage at a rate approaching 80 percent while their parents are split 50-50, and their grandparents are overwhelmingly against it.

My experience is that overall there are two considerations to keep in mind regarding the mindset of certain straight people. First, gay issues are not on their radar screen. They have no idea we can't pass our assets tax-free to our partners when we die as they do with their spouses, or that we are not protected against employment, credit, education and housing discrimination in two-thirds of the states or by the Federal government, or that America is the only country in the Western world that does not protect its LGBT citizens. Second, they tend to hear anti-gay messages and accept them as fact. So when they get to know a gay person, there is massive conflict between what they've been taught and what they're experiencing. We get to untangle this mess for them. Our job is to educate good but misinformed people.  All it takes is getting to know people and helping them understand that what they've heard is wrong.

Note: The book is available at http://www.overachieversdiary.com. A portion of the proceeds from purchases from the Web site go to the Army Tri Team.

NLGJA: A Look Ahead with New Executive Director, David Barre

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) is an organization of 1,300 journalists, media professionals, educators and students who work within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. On July 30, the organization announced its new Executive Director, David Barre, who will oversee day-to-day operations. Barre comes to the NLGJA from the Association of Corporate Counsel, where he was responsible for direct mail campaigns, event promotion, media relations, marketing to members and external advertising, as well as developing an overarching communications strategy. For 10 years previously, he served in management positions at Greenpeace and the National Minority AIDS Council.

I caught up with David to learn more about his plans to lead the NLGJA.

Jon Garbo: What is your vision for the NLGJA?

David Barre: I believe that NLGJA is a vital organization that serves an important role in the LGBT and journalist communities. Broadly, I would say that my vision is to help NLGJA grow—both in the size of its membership and its budget—so that it can improve its ability to address the needs of the membership and continue to monitor the media to ensure fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. I know that probably sounds like spin, but the truth is that the specifics of my vision need to be shaped by the needs of the membership and the realities of the media today. Lucky for me, I’m starting just a few days before NLGJA’s annual convention. That is going to be a tremendous learning opportunity for me both in terms of getting to know NLGJA’s members and their needs and really diving into the issues that drive the community. NLGJA is also about to embark on the development of a new three-year strategic plan, which is another important step in developing my vision for NLGJA.

Jon Garbo: What are the biggest challenges facing your organization today?

David Barre: Well, media company mergers and bottom line driven staff cuts at many major media outlets threaten the traditional sources for NLGJAs members and funders. We are going to need to be innovative and strategic in both of these areas for NLGJA to continue to thrive. Beyond that, we will be challenged to deliver programs that meet the needs of NLGJA’s increasingly diverse membership with limited resources. That is not a new challenge, but one that we must be vigilant about addressing. Another ongoing challenge for NLGJA is identifying and engaging new members. For that, we need to rely on our current members and media outlets like this one to help raise awareness of the organization and its mission.

Jon Garbo: What are your top three priorities, and how will you address them?

David Barre: The first two are easy, as I talked about them a lot during the interview process: diversifying and growing the funding for the organization and continuing to build the membership. As noted above, NLGJA can no longer rely solely on its traditional funding sources and I will be actively looking for new funders for NLGJA and its programs, including corporations beyond our current pool of funders, foundations, major donors, etc. In the same vein, NLGJA needs to be innovative in how it identifies and recruits new members. We need to be looking beyond traditional newsrooms to “new” communicators like bloggers. I also would like to implement a more robust recruitment strategy for PR professionals. And, down the road, I would like explore what role NLGJA could play in the international LGBT journalist community. At this point, I guess I’d say my other top priority is really getting to know the organization and its members. I have many ideas about how I would like to see NLGJA develop—but the bottom line is that I am serving the members…and I will be making their priorities my own.

Jon Garbo: Overall, how do you feel the media is doing when it comes to fairly and accurately portraying the LGBT community?

David Barre: I think there has been tremendous progress on this front since NLGJA’s inception in 1990. Tools like NLGJA’s Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology have been instrumental in helping to educate journalists and communicators on how to appropriately address LGBT issues. But as many LGBT issues are gaining momentum (i.e. marriage for same-sex couples) and becoming more politically charged, the chances for a backslide exist. So we must continue to vigilantly monitor the portrayal of the LGBT community and use a variety of methods, such as NLGJA’s Rapid Response Task Force, to address inaccuracies when they arise.

Happy July 4th

As usual, we're not posting original content on a holiday. However, it occurred to us that just skipping a day might not be necessary, particularly when we have so much content to share that newer readers might not be familiar with and that regular readers might want to revisit. So, here are links to some of my favorite posts by members our blogging team. Enjoy!

Eddy: Maybe It’s Time To Bring Back the Tombstones of the 1980s

Steve: Locker Room Welcome Mat

Patricia: Are Canadian and Quebecker Women Still Living in the Closet?

Rich: Philadelphia: City of Brotherly (and Gay) Love

Jon: Honest Communication About Gay Health is Supremely Important

Peter: DC Gay Pride – Corporations Come Out

Mark: Perspective on World AIDS Day – the Communications Challenge

Telling Our Stories: More Q&A with PFLAG's Jody Huckaby

As we wrap up our Pride Month posts, we’re concluding our Q&A with Jody Huckaby, the executive director of one of the national LGBT advocacy organizations most identified with Pride Month: Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). In part one of our Q&A yesterday, Jody talked about the organization’s new Straight for Equality program and other aspects of their corporate outreach. In part two today, Jody talks about Pride Month and the power of PFLAG’s message.

Ben Finzel: This is Pride Month and this is the time we typically see an enhanced interest in LGBT marketing and communications along with new corporate and advocacy organization announcements, partnerships, etc. Is Pride Month the biggest month for PFLAG or do you focus equally or more on other time periods during the year?

Straight for Equality: Q&A with PFLAG's Jody Huckaby

Corporate engagement in our community takes many forms, and one of the simplest is providing support for leading LGBT advocacy organizations. Earlier this month, we asked Jody Huckaby, the executive director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), to answer a few questions about his organization’s increasingly active engagement with corporations and other leading marketers. Jody’s answers provide valuable insight into the ways in which our community works with corporate leaders and useful information about the power of messaging in reaching multiple audiences.

Full disclosure: The DC and NY chapters of PFLAG were the first clients of FH Out Front. We helped the chapter leaders develop and launch the communications effort in support of the Stay Close campaign they created five years ago. Stay Close is a first-of-its-kind PSA campaign that features straight celebrities and their LGBT relatives, and it’s a powerful example of effective communications with a simple message. While we didn’t have the pleasure of working with Jody and his national team on this effort (Jody wasn’t yet at the helm of PFLAG), we were and are big fans of PFLAG. 

As usual, we’ve broken this post into two parts: today, Jody talks about corporate engagement messages and expectations. Tomorrow, Jody will talk about PFLAG’s role during Pride Month and the lessons they’ve learned about the power of their message. If you want more information about Jody or PFLAG, visit their Web site at www.pflag.org.

Ben Finzel: PFLAG's list of corporate sponsors and your position as the first organization for LGBT families to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange indicate that you've been successful at engaging corporations as sponsors. What is your message to corporate sponsors and what do you offer them in terms of partnerships and activities?

Reaching the Gay Market Part 2

Yesterday Todd Evans told us about the history of his company and provided an insight into some of his earliest consumer polls in the gay and lesbian market. Today he talks about the future of local gay media and integration with the world of on-line media.

Steve: What is the local gay media outlet's place in our community now that we have so many national LGBT publications and on-line outlets?

Todd: We know a few things for sure.  Every national company that has invested in local gay media generally does the best in the marketplace.  Why is this? Well, for one thing, the nationals just do not have a big enough circulation to make a real difference to a national company or launch of a product alone.

Really any individual medium is not big enough to make that difference in the gay market. So it is only as a group that you can get real movement.  If every gay publication was straight tomorrow, including all the nationals, then none would get any national advertisers as all of them would be just too small in reach. It is only because of their gay niche and that they can be easily bought together that it makes sense and is profitable for agencies to recommend buying ad space in those pubs.

Rivendell Media & Todd Evans: Reaching the Gay Market

Rivendell Media is the leading gay and lesbian media placement company in the United States and Canada.  Helping agencies, media companies and advertisers reach the gay market since 1979, Rivendell serves as the national advertising representative for over 200 gay and lesbian newspapers, magazines and entertainment guides.  In 1984, Rivendell Media organized the National Gay Newspaper Guild, now with twelve member publications representing some of the nation’s most frequently read local gay media with a combined readership of nearly one million people.

Todd Evans has been involved with the gay and lesbian press for many years, first working for and then taking over as president and CEO of Rivendell Media. In 2001, he purchased Q Syndicate, the leading content provider for gay media. As president and CEO of both Q Syndicate and Rivendell Media, Todd brings a unique perspective to the gay and lesbian publishing industry. Todd is also the publisher of Press Pass Q, a newsletter for the gay and lesbian press professional.

Steve:  Rivendell Media has been helping companies and advertisers reach the gay market for more than 25 years. How different is Rivendell's role and its operations now compared to when it started in the 1980s?

Todd: Well, we used to have to sell the market which was a lot harder in the beginning.  Most agencies said they were not interested so we had to go directly to clients to sell them and get them to direct their ad agencies.  Marketing to the gay and lesbian community was seen as risky at the time and no agency wanted to propose anything risky to a client.  Now there are other companies that specialize in research and gay and lesbian corporate outreach so we no longer need to sell the market. We just provide expert media advice and sales.

Steve: Tell us about NGNG as the organization has become a mark of excellence in local LGBT media.  How has membership grown in the past two decades? Is there room to grow Guild membership further?

Todd: The National Gay Newspaper Guild was really what started all the interest in the Gay Market, and so they will always stand out from the crowd for that reason.  All the original publishers paid their dues and so continue to be some of the best LGBT publications in the United States.  Membership make-up has changed but the Guild members have been conscious of the fact that "less is more" and have kept membership to top US markets, which is what most marketers are interested in most. 

There has been lots of talk about adding members but so far membership has always been at about a dozen.  I believe that if they do their work and concentrate on being the very best then additional members are not necessary.  As we all know, bigger is not necessarily better.

Getting the Pink Perspective

As promised, here is more from Tony Grew, editor of Pink News. In today’s second and final part of his interview with me you can hear what he has to say about Pride in the 21st century, how PinkNews.co.uk decides what is and what isn’t a gay interest story, and of course Paris Hilton.

This month sees Pride events taking place all over the world including London. What do you think Pride should stand for in the 21st century and how can it connect with the new generation of gay and lesbian young people who often live free and open lives?

Firstly I want to remind everyone of how lucky we are. Pride itself may be tacky and not to the taste of many people, but there are brave gay and lesbian people all over the world who are marching and attempting to march, and facing abuse, arrest and public humiliation.

So please remember how lucky we are to be able to discuss whether Pride is relevant anymore.

The first Pride event I went to was in 1994, with my girlfriend as it happens. Don't ask. Anyway, the thing I loved about it was that it was a free event in the park, and that local people took their kids along to have some fun. Straight people felt welcome and it was a community event.

Gay people in the UK should strive to make Pride something that everyone can participate in, and welcome families and our straight brothers and sisters to our party. After all, we do a very good party.

We need to reach out to everyone. I use St Patrick's Day parades as a good example of that. They are not Irish-only events, they are for everyone to enjoy.

Younger people tend to have much wider circles of straight friends, which is what we should all want. We are members of a wider society and we should celebrate that.

Pride should stand for Pride – in ourselves, in our country, in our communities, in our shared values.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom attended a gay fundraising event. He told us how proud he was that in our country, gay and lesbian people can have civil partnerships and that the state now recognises their loving relationships.

That made me proud. Proud of my country and proud of our shared values.

In a way that is what I find so moving about Moscow Pride or any of the other events that face bans, police brutality and hostile public reactions.

Those gay people could easily just run away, or move away, come and live with us in London and let the UK benefit from their talents. But they do not want to. They want to stay where they are and make their country a better place.

Pride is not just about having a party, which many gay people seem to do most weekends anyway.   

It should be about showing anyone who is in the closet that it is ok to be outside. It should demonstrate to the whole community that gay people are soldiers, and police officers, and doctors, and not just dancers and media types.

But most of all it should be welcoming, outward looking and inclusive of all sexualities. Do you know who decriminalised homosexuality in the UK? Straight people.

They also introduced every other right that we have, because we are all one community.

What do you make of the coverage of Pride and other gay issues in the mainstream press?

I used to work in TV and I can remember having an argument with my boss about our coverage of Pride. Same shots every year. Oh look, a very fat man in leather, some unbelievably camp young guys wearing angel wings and some rather butch lesbians. Oh, and some police looking on bemused.

Yet you go to Pride, and while there are some people who naturally want to make themselves stand out, in fact 90% of people are just your average guys or girls. That is never reflected in the mainstream media, but the gay press are just as guilty of promoting that self-image to the gay community.

As for general coverage, well it has got better, and I would say that it is actually the institutions perceived as gay friendly that can be the most difficult to get change in.

Take the BBC. Full of gays, yet they refuse to take homophobia among their presenters seriously.

Yet calling people 'gayer' or calling a phone ringtone 'gay' is homophobia.

Getting the Pink Perspective

is one of the world's leading online sources of gay news. Whether it's a gay take on breaking news, politics, celebrities, gossip, entertainment, religion, or business, PinkNews.co.uk has it.

It manages to combine serious in-depth analysis, most recently interviewing all six candidates for the deputy leadership of the British Labour Party, with edgy coverage of the more frivolous end of the news agenda, ranging from Paris Hilton to Big Brother.

PinkNews.co.uk is an international site, but it has a distinctly British style which means it still forms part of my daily routine even as I sit at my desk across the pond in Washington DC.

This week I chatted to Tony Grew, the editor of PinkNews.co.uk, about his views on the future of the gay media, how companies should go about communicating with the gay consumer, what makes him proud (it is Pride month on the blog after all), celebrities "coming out" and most importantly the most vexed question of all, what makes Paris Hilton a gay icon…

Tony, it is an absolute pleasure to have to appear on the Out Front blog. You join the likes of Billie Jean King, Neil Guiliano, President of GLAAD, and Howie Klein, former President of Warner Bros Records, who have all been interviewed on this site, and your place among them as editor of Pink News is well deserved.

First, why don't you tell our readers a little bit about Pink News? Who reads it, why, and who do you see as your competition?

The site is less than two years old, but we have managed in that short time to build a strong reputation for news reporting and analysis.

Winning the prestigious Stonewall award for Best Publication last year was a massive vote of confidence in us and in what we are trying to do.

PinkNews.co.uk was founded by ITN journalist Ben Cohen. He realised there was no site producing consistent, intelligent news from the gay community.

There are newspapers and magazines aimed for the gay community in the UK, but we wanted to break out of the lifestyle-sex-clubs type of coverage. We have an extremely strict policy on images on the site, which is one of the things that sets us apart from any other gay news site in the UK.

We do this for two reasons. It means that the site is work-friendly, and in fact the vast majority of our readers access PinkNews.co.uk from their desks.

Second, it means that lots of straight people also use the site, to see what the gay community thinks but also to use us as a source of news with a gay slant.

We feel very strongly that the old media model of advertising to gay men by putting pictures of pretty boys everywhere is a bit 20th century. Our success is based on treating our readers like intelligent, engaged human beings.

One of the advantages of all this is that we are taken seriously by political parties and by the mainstream press in the UK. It is very gratifying to see stories that you have worked on picked up and reported in the national press.

As for competitors, we don't really have any in the UK. There are sites that provide feeds to other news sites, and there are dating sites with a small news presence attached. As I mentioned, there are newspapers and publications, but they also have a very small web presence, principally because they want people to go out and pick up a copy, not read all their best stuff online.

There are sites that we admire immensely, such as the Washington Blade, and we try to steal as much from them as we can!

Communicating as a "Citizen of the World:" More Q&A with Billie Jean King

In yesterday’s introduction to my Q&A with Billie Jean King, we talked about outing, truth and communications challenges. In today’s conclusion, Ms. King addresses the role of corporations in our community and her own experience and lessons learned. 

Ben Finzel: You have become increasingly engaged with corporations and organizations on behalf of specific issues and activities. What do you think the proper role is for leading gay and lesbian spokespersons/endorsers in this regard?  How have you modeled your own advocacy and activity to reflect that?

Billie Jean King: If more corporations had a diversity committee and celebrated events like Pride Month it would be a win/win for the corporation and their employees. I have given several diversity-themed speeches at major corporations like Pepsi and Merrill Lynch and they get it. It gives the LGBT community within those corporations a sense of belonging and it not only gives them a place to go and have their voices heard, it gives them a reason to use their voice. The LGBT community is brand loyal and more and more mainstream corporations are recognizing the value in that. We also are a great source of employee referrals. So those companies who are showing faith in the LGBT community are getting rewarded and the community is now having a voice in a new arena.

Communications and Caring: Q&A with Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is best known as the sports legend, social activist and out lesbian who revolutionized sports and changed the way women were viewed in society. Her role in history, and her continued engagement in big issues and challenging thoughts make her one of the most influential women of her generation. She is now a “citizen of the world” (her words) and an active, engaged spokesperson for various organizations, corporations and causes. 

Ms. King works 200 or more days a year and regularly speaks to corporate and advocacy audiences about LGBT and women’s issues. She has also won renewed attention with the decision by the United States Tennis Association to name the National Tennis Center after her, a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that thirty years ago, Ms. King was fighting to ensure women even had the same access to courts and payments as men did in the tennis world.

Ms. King frequently talks about how important it is for individuals to be comfortable in their own skin and she also addresses the significance of corporations being comfortable in who they are as they address corporate communications issues affecting our community and others as well.

I recently participated in a telephone interview with Ms. King along with several journalists (from Diva Magazine in the UK, Go New York and The Sunday Times of London). In the space of just 45 minutes, I learned much more about Ms. King’s legacy and her impact on the world than I can fit in this blog. The following are the highlights of an often entertaining, always inspiring, conversation with a woman many gays and lesbians (including this gay man) consider a hero. 

We’ve divided this Q&A into two parts: today’s conversation focuses on coming out and lessons learned about communications. Tomorrow’s post will focus on corporate communications and thoughts about the future.

"Out" in the Real World: More Q&A with Tom Roth

In today’s conclusion to our three-part Q&A with Community Marketing, Inc. President Tom Roth, we take a look at trends that might shape the marketplace in the next five years. If Tom is right, the future is looking better all the time, leading me to ask the question that my colleague Jon Garbo has been using to signoff on his recent podcasts: If You’re Not Out Front, Where Are You?

Ben Finzel: What future trends do you see predominating in the next five years? 

Tom Roth: Wow that’s a biggie, and you saved it for last. We’ve been taking a pulse on the LGBT market since 1994, when we ran our first market research study. In the past year alone, we have produced and analyzed over 30,000 gay and lesbian surveys, and conducted about 100 focus groups and advisory boards. There are many ongoing and emerging trends to consider. Here are a few of the leading trends, in brief.

Slow and Steady Wins The Race: More Q&A with Tom Roth

In today’s second part of our three-part Q&A with Community Marketing Inc. President Tom Roth (pictured at left), we examine the basics of how to get started in developing and conducting marketing programs aimed at the gay and lesbian community.   

Ben Finzel: In very general terms, what's the best way for a marketer to get started in developing a program to reach the LGBT market?

Tom Roth: Keeping in general terms as requested, the best way for a marketer to get started in the LGBT market is slowly. That may seem odd coming from a marketing professional. But our experience is that those who jump in head-first are usually in and out of the market before they ever had a chance to gain traction. Those who make a steady, long-term commitment based on realistic growth goals are far more likely to gain brand loyalty, ongoing customer satisfaction, and ultimately, market share. Take a deep breath. Go through the market intelligence and internal preparation exercises, and stay in for the long run.

Once ready to launch a campaign, we don’t normally recommend starting with full-page ads in national publications. This is an important element of a comprehensive plan for many marketers, but it is also the most expensive one. You can build up to that. Starting slowly may involve simply sponsoring a few well-matched community events, and meeting your customers face-to-face. Grassroots. It could be a limited direct mail test with a response vehicle, to gauge how effective your lists are. These are examples of basic “Marketing 101” concepts, which apply nicely to starting out in the gay and lesbian market as well.

Don't Try This At Home: Q&A with Tom Roth

I’m pleased to add another Q&A to our list today with a three-parter with our friend Tom Roth, President of Community Marketing, Inc. in San Francisco. Many of you may already be familiar with Tom’s organization from our many posts on their work. CMI is the “global leader in gay tourism marketing” and has a 15-year track record of experience and expertise in the industry that is now growing to include additional segments of the marketplace. I recently asked Tom to share his thoughts on some of the basics of LGBT marketing and his views on trends and future developments in the industry. 

Tom’s replies are really comprehensive, and might serve as a primer of sorts for marketers involved in our community. To make it easier for you to use this Q&A that way, we’ve divided it into three distinct parts and will run one each day for the next three days. The first part looks at commonly held assumptions and common mistakes. The second part identifies specific things to consider in developing programs to reach our communities. The third part highlights three trends Tom believes will shape the future of marketing to our communities.

Enjoy!

Ben Finzel: What are the most commonly held assumptions about the LGBT market that you hear from new and potential clients?

Tom Roth: One of the most common assumptions is that marketers already reach the LGBT community via their existing mainstream marketing initiatives. It’s true, of course. Gays and lesbians read the New York Times, Newsweek and People, for example, as much as anyone, if not more. However, when this assumption leads them to believe that they don’t need to engage in LGBT-dedicated messaging in LGBT media, it’s misguided. Gays and lesbians want to see themselves in ads, and in their own community’s media.

Communications Driving Dollars: One Not-For-Profit’s Perspective

Guaranteeing a steady – if not a growing – stream of revenue is an essential component of any successful not-for-profit. And while not-for-profits cultivate gifts from corporations, foundations and governmental bodies, many also rely heavily on the generosity of scores of individual donors. Reaching these donors, however, provides both a challenge and an opportunity.

The challenge includes identifying potential donors and communicating how their dollars will impact an organization’s mission. The more efficient the identification process and the more clear and compelling the communication, the greater the likelihood of raising funds. The opportunity lies in the sheer number of individuals who give and the power of their money in aggregate. In 2005, Americans gave more than $260 billion to charity, according to the Giving USA Foundation.

GMHC – also known as Gay Men’s Health Crisis – is the nationally-recognized AIDS service organization founded 25 years ago by five gay men in response to the unfolding epidemic first called GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), then later AIDS. And while GMHC continues to serve gay men, it also supports diverse populations, including many heterosexual women, reflecting how the landscape of the epidemic has changed in the U.S.

How does an organization with a heritage of serving gay men communicate to a wide audience of donors, especially as HIV/AIDS becomes more prevalent among heterosexuals and people of color? And how does it continue to keep donors motivated 25 years after AIDS first presented and in the face of competition from many other worthwhile causes? For answers to these and other questions, check out my podcast with Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., GMHC’s chief executive officer.

Readers: I will donate $1 for every legitimate comment we receive about the podcast in the two weeks following this posting, up to $250. Fleishman-Hillard will match me dollar for dollar. So please share your thoughts and feedback. Thank you! – Jon Garbo

How-To: Communicate Equality in the Workplace, Part II

Yesterday, we featured part one of our conversation with Selisse Berry, executive director of Out & Equal™ Workplace Advocates. Today, in the conclusion of our conversation, Selisse addresses the barriers to communicating equality in the workplace and talks about the future of LGBT workplace equality.

Ben Finzel: What barriers are there to the work you do? What kinds of reactions do you get from companies and how do you respond to them?

Selisse Berry: Luckily, we don’t see nearly as many barriers as we used to. Ten years ago, when I was first involved in the organization, we’d see a lot of internal pushback and a lot of fear. Companies were reluctant to be the pioneers who broke new ground. But we were largely in the dark back then about how much equality issues affected businesses.

Today, we have years of studies and reports to point to and say, “see, the added expense of covering domestic partner benefits is minimal, but the gains in reputation and talent are huge.” Because we have the academic tools and the experiences of those companies willing to take a risk, it’s a much easier sell to top level executives.

On the rare occasion that we still encounter hesitancy to embrace equality, it’s almost always because of fear at a public relations backlash. Anti-gay activists have been rather vocally opposed to workplace equality lately (probably because they see how much influence it has on a changing society), and have unsuccessfully tried to rally public opinion against corporations as large as Ford, Wal-Mart, and Disney. Of course, a corporation that is prepared to deal with these reactions, both internally and externally, has little to fear. The Disney boycott, in particular, illustrates how easy it is to weather a storm of public outcry. Among the strengths of Out & Equal, though, is our ability to connect people together across industry and share best practices, and during our 2006 Workplace Summit in Chicago, we had a great featured session titled “Staying the Course: Corporate Responses to Backlash for LGBT Outreach and Support” led by experts in the intersection of corporate communications and LGBT equality.

How-To: Communicate Equality in the Workplace, Part I

Out & Equal™ Workplace Advocates is one of the newest, and most interesting, of the LGBT advocacy groups in the United States. The San Francisco-based organization is, according to their Web site, “the pre-eminent national organization devoted to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in the workplace.” In this capacity, the group is focused on promoting “equal policies, opportunities, practices, and benefits in the workplace regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, or characteristics.” Now THAT’S a communications challenge.

Out & Equal Executive Director Selisse Berry (photo at left) recently shared with us her insights about the organization’s unique focus and provided some wonderful real world examples of the impact of their work. Today’s conversation focuses on the role of corporate communications on LGBT issues in the workplace. Tomorrow, we’ll post the conclusion of our conversation which is focused on current barriers and future opportunities.

Ben Finzel: Out & Equal has carved out an expanding niche in addressing workplace equality issues. How do you interact with the corporate communications departments of companies and what is your message to them?

Selisse Berry: Our approach has always been to work within companies to effect change. Most of our interactions begin when a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or straight-allied employee approaches us about helping them to achieve some goal within their workplace.

For example, a few years ago we were contacted by a Wal-Mart employee who wanted to see his company move toward offering domestic partner benefits and other signs of inclusion and acceptance. At the time, he was looking for ideas and support in building a strong case to take back to Wal-Mart executives. Since he had no corporate support at the time, he was exploring these issues on his own time and using his own resources. We offered him a scholarship to attend our annual Workplace Summit and started working with him to construct a strong business case for equality. As a result, several LGBT leaders, including myself, had the opportunity to work with Wal-Mart executives in creating a plan and setting some goals for progress.

Other times, we get called in to lead cultural awareness trainings, especially when a company is struggling with implementing new policy or communicating the commitment to diversity down the corporate ladder. Last year we came to the aid of JCPenney when a transgender store employee reached the decision to transition on the job. Our Building Bridges training helped the employee’s coworkers understand more about transgender issues and reinforced JCPenney’s commitment to treating all employees equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

In other cases, where a company is a little further down the road—for example, they already include sexual orientation in their EEO policy and offer domestic partner benefits—then we talk with them about more advanced issues. We encourage them to include transgender people in their policies and benefits, look at complete spousal equivalency benefits, support an LGBT employee resource group (ERG), and to advocate for changes to the law that support equality both inside and outside the office. Over the years, we have developed our 15 steps to an Out & Equal workplace, which we encourage the companies we work with to embrace and enact.

We encourage marketing and communications teams to market to the LGBT community, to support LGBT organizations and events (such as Pride celebrations or our own Workplace Summit), to communicate their commitment to diversity and equality internally and externally through both word and deed.

One of the things that sets us apart from other organizations is that we are concerned about more than just the corporate policy. Yes, it’s absolutely essential that companies include sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in their nondiscrimination policy, offer domestic partner benefits, and support an ERG; but it’s also essential that attitudes within the company reflect those policies. A nondiscrimination policy does little good if an employee on the factory floor or in a remote location still doesn’t feel safe about coming out at work because of the derogatory remarks and attitudes he or she encounters in their day-to-day job.

Communicating and Coming Out

Yesterday, we featured Part One of a conversation with Eric Marcus, CEO of Together Media. Today, in the conclusion of that Q&A, Eric addresses the communications challenges surrounding coming out. 

Ben Finzel: You wrote Breaking the Surface with Olympian and out gay man Greg Louganis. How important to the future of gay and lesbian communications is it for notable gay and lesbian athletes and other public figures to come out?

Eric Marcus: This is not as critical an issue as it was a couple of decades ago when no one famous was out. I think we all benefit from seeing openly gay people in all walks of life. But more important than openly gay celebrities are the openly gay neighbors or family members. People need to know us to know us. Celebrities may set examples, but they're remote. In general, I think that most people pay far less attention today to when someone famous comes out than years ago—unless, of course, it's a scandal and gay scandals are never good for anyone.

Addressing the "Ick" Factor

Millions of readers know Eric Marcus as the man Greg Louganis collaborated with to write his best-selling memoir Breaking the Surface or the man who has written numerous books including Is It A Choice? and Together Forever, The Male Couples Guide. But what many people may not know is that Eric Marcus is also the CEO of Together Media, a company he founded in 2005 to develop new media products for gay and lesbian consumers, with a focus on couples.

In this Valentine’s Day week, we thought now would be a good time to address some of the specific LGBT relationship issues that represent such an opportunity and a challenge to marketers. Eric is an interesting, and often inspirational, voice within the gay and lesbian community on these issues and he has a lot to say about how to talk to gays and lesbians and what to say to us. 

In part one of our Q&A with Eric today, we address the first part of that equation: how should marketers talk to our community and how best should they address relationship issues?

Ben Finzel: You're widely regarded as a leading authority on gay relationships and you've recently been invited to address corporate audiences on these and related topics. What do you tell corporate executives and marketers about reaching us?

Eric Marcus: I say, "Don't try this at home."  In other words, if you want to reach gay consumers, go outside of your home base to find experts who understand the people you’re trying to reach. And the first thing the experts should be able to tell you is that there is no such thing as a gay and lesbian market. There are gay and lesbian consumers and those consumers fall into a range of market segments that are in most ways no different from the market segments into which straight male and female consumers fall. 

If, for example, you want to specifically reach same-sex couples, you’re going to have to find ways to talk to us like we’re grownups.  Don't use references to Dorothy or rainbows. Don't use overtly sexual images (romantic is okay, overtly sexual is not).  And no sexual double-entendres. Maybe I'm old fashioned in this regard, but for the grownup male couple or female couple we don't need you to remind us through marketing and advertising that what sets us apart is our sexuality. We know that already. There's a lot more to us than just our libido and if you want to sell us something you need to prove to us that you know that. If you do something totally obvious, you let us know that you haven't done your homework and that shows a lack of respect for who we are and how we live our lives.