Gay Media Must Adapt To Survive

Ian Johnson, Founder and CEO of the LGBT marketing agency Out Now Global, recently remarked on the need for the gay media market to adapt, particularly in terms of media, when commenting on the news that Spain’s leading gay lifestyle magazine - Zero - is to close its doors after publishing its next issue. Johnson says the closure of 'Zero' magazine in Spain is part of a worldwide trend of realignment in the publishing business.

"This is not a phenomenon particular to gay and lesbian media" Johnson said. "Many print products in the general media market are finding their revenues under attack from the combined effects of the recession and the migration of readers to online media product. But it is hitting particularly hard in the gay market as many gays and lesbians no longer feel so strongly ’personally connected’ to the need for a gay and lesbian community print media product. In some ways this is a byproduct of an improving acceptance of gays and lesbians in many parts of the world".

Johnson spoke this month to the global travel industry at London’s WTM World Travel Market industry trade show on the critical importance to gay market success of keeping in close touch with the latest moves taking place in the lesbian and gay market.


The closure of ’Zero’ gay magazine in Spain’s media market follows the news that Window Media - publishers of some of the leading US gay and lesbian print media newspapers - closed for business last week.

Even ’The Advocate’ - one of America’s gay news print media ’hero’ mastheads is being spun into the pages of its more lifestyle-oriented glossy sister publication ’Out’ magazine.

"In business as in life, everything changes" Johnson said. "Nothing stays the same. It is really sad to lose publications that many of us have grown up with. They often form part of people’s own gay life history. Yet it is the case that it is those gay media publishers that recognize changing LGBT market community media habits, and adapt accordingly, that stand the best chance to make it successfully through the recession. Those that do this most effectively will not only survive, they should prosper in the evolving gay and lesbian media business landscape".

"Those that don’t adapt to changes in the market may join the ranks of gay print media that no longer publish. We hope that the numbers in that category can remain small".


To learn more, check out Out Now's blog at http://www.GayMarketNews.com