In last week's issue, I wrote about the founding of Windy City Times in September, 1985, including the eventual split when most of the staff and I walked out to found Outlines in May 1987. The column was about the death of WCT co-founder and publisher, Jeff McCourt.
Ironically, this week marks that 20th anniversary of that walk-out and founding of Outlines newspaper. The first edition came out two weeks later, on June 4, 1987.
Our group originally wanted to purchase Windy City Times from co-founder Jeff McCourt. Jeff, his partner Bob Bearden, art director Drew Badanish and I ( as managing editor ) had started Windy City Times; after Bob died, Jeff seemed distracted and dispassionate about continuing the paper.
But Jeff was energized after our crew broke off to start Outlines, so a 13-year newspaper battle began, one that ended in 2000 when I purchased the Windy City Times name from Jeff ( a year after he faced a crippling mutiny ) .
Of course, a lot of history happened in the intervening years ( 1987-2000 ) , with an amazing community rising up in the face of AIDS and anti-gay politicians. Those were the glory years of gay activism and journalism, and the local press reflected that back through the eyes and ears of our reporters and photographers.
The GLBT community of 2007 is very different than 20 years ago, especially in Chicago. We have some of the most progressive laws, politicians, police, corporations, and neighborhoods of any city in the world. So the coverage of our community in 2007 is far different, and has transitioned over the years. This is especially true because the 'mainstream' media is finally more responsive to GLBT and AIDS issues. In 1987, it was difficult to find images of openly gay and lesbian people on TV, in newspapers, or any other media. And of course the World Wide Web was years away.
So Windy City Times in 2007 is a very different paper serving very different needs than in 1985-1987, reflecting our community's mainstreaming, our community's growth, and our community's shifting demographics and geographies. There are not as many ACT UP-style protests, there are few openly homophobic politicians in our town, and we even have statewide gay rights.
That does not mean the struggle is over. There are still hate crimes and anti-gay politicians, there are still homophobic institutions and corporations, and there are hundreds of ways GLBTs remain an active and vital part of Chicago's community. Our mission continues to be to reflect the entire diversity of our city, the amazing ways GLBTs contribute to progress and change, both within the GLBT community, and in the overall City of Chicago.
