The National Gay Newspaper Guild has elected a new slate of officers for 2004, including the first women to its board of directors. The Guild was founded in 1988 and is the association of the nation's largest newspapers for the gay and lesbian community.
New Board President is Philadelphia Gay News Publisher Mark A. Segal, who hosted the annual meeting of The Guild in April. Philadelphia and Pennsylvania tourism departments both hosted outreach events for the delegates from the nation's top 12 gay newspapers, and Philadelphia's mayor stopped by for a reception during The Guild's meeting.
Also elected to The Guild's board were: Vice President Michael Portantino (Gay & Lesbian Times of San Diego), Treasurer Robert Moore (Dallas Voice), Secretary Sue O'Connell (Bay Windows, Boston), Communications Director Tracy Baim (Windy City Times of Chicago) and At-Large member William Waybourn (Washington Blade).
Two of the six officers, Segal and Moore, were among the founders of the Guild in 1988. The other founding papers were The Weekly News (Miami), the Washington Blade and Windy City Times. There are now 11 cities represented on The Guild.
In addition to those named above, the other Guild members are: Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco), New York Blade, Southern Voice (Atlanta), Frontiers (Los Angeles), and the Houston Voice.
'We have many exciting plans in 2004, including a demographic survey, newsletters, and a Web site for this elite group of newspapers,' said Segal. 'I look forward to the new leadership team and our newly energized board of directors.'
'The Guild's gay newspapers are looking forward to a strong year of increased advertising, as more and more companies target this loyal market,' said Vice President Portantino.
Sue O'Connell and Tracy Baim become the first female board members of The Guild. O'Connell and her business partner, Jeff Coakley, purchased Bay Windows from former Guild President Jim Hoover. Baim purchased Windy City Times from Guild founding member Jeff McCourt in 2000; she founded the paper in 1985 with McCourt.
The Guild represents the largest newspapers for the gay community.
The combined circulation of the member newspapers is larger than Out, The Advocate and Genre combined.
