Out Front Magazine is an LGBTQ newspaper and daily online publication in the Denver metropolitan area. Out Front was founded by Phil Price. Its first issue was dated on April 2, 1976, and it is the one of the oldest independent LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) publication in the United States.
After the Stonewall riots on June 28, 1969, the homosexual community began fighting back against the government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities. Despite being founded seven years later by Phil Price, a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1976, Out Front came on the heels of the Stonewall riots and became part of the gay rights movement. Price saw a need for a voice for the LGBT community in Colorado and started the publication in his parents' basement.
The first issue of the magazine was published on April 2, 1976.[1][2]
On June 5, 1981, AIDS was first reported in the gay community in Los Angeles. Out Front, as a result, provided coverage of the many victims of AIDS/HIV.
In the midst of the battle of Colorado's ballot measure on anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ people, Amendment 2, Price died in 1993 at the age of 39 as a victim of AIDS.[2] He left Out Front to Greg Montoya, Jay Klein, and Jack Kelley. Kelley later died due to natural causes.
The paper changed its name from Out Front to Out Front Colorado at the suggestion of former advertising director David Beach and at the urging of former editor Madeline Ingraham in 1995 in hopes of reaching out on a national level.[citation needed] The name change of the publication also served to provide a niche for local LGBT news.[citation needed] During Jerry Cunningham's ownership, the title of the publication was changed back to the original Out Front.
The publication has had a web presence since 2006.[citation needed]
Price started the publication from a political perspective, being "very in-your-face and rebellious".[citation needed] While the publication still publishes political information and supports candidates, news features and entertainment are the main components.
The magazine has been noted as Denver's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender magazine.
The longevity of the publication has been, in parts, thanks to its niche writing and focus on the Colorado LGBT community. While nationwide issues are covered, the publication strives to find the local angle for their readers.
The paper has covered in-depth news stories from around the region in the past such as the arrival of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the Colorado Amendment 2 controversy , and the murder of Matthew Shepard.
The paper also publishes several Special Edition issues each year with themes and coverage of community events such as AIDS Walk Colorado, Rocky Mountain Regional Rodeo, Aspen Gay Ski Week, Dining Out For Life, as well as an annual Holiday Gift Guide and New Year's issues. The largest issue based on circulation and page count is the Special Edition issue timed to coincide with PrideFest when that event takes place in Denver each June.[3]
Ownership
Greg Montoya and Jay Klein owned and managed Out Front from the time between Phil Price's death in 1993 until early 2012, when Colorado resident Jerry Cunningham bought the tabloid and continued its operation.[4] On October 30, 2020, Jerry Cunningham stepped back to focus on the non-profit pursuits of the Out Front Foundation, as Maggie Phillips and Addison Herron-Wheeler became majority owners and co-publishers of the magazine.[5]
Reception and controversy
The magazine has been noted as one of the oldest remaining active LGBTQ publications since its foundation in 1976.[6][7] It is sometims referred to as "Denver’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender magazine"[8] or "a local publication that is a directory and guide to the local gay scene".[9]
In 2002, the magazine refused to published an ad submitted by the National Lawyer Guild's LGBT committee, prompting accusations that the magazine had "sold out".[10]
In 2014, the magazine's publisher Q Publishing Group sued billboard advertising company Outfront Media,[1][11] which had changed its name from CBS Outdoor to Outfront Media in 2014.[12] The two parties settled out of court in 2016.[13][bettersourceneeded][14]
Out Front is maintained through advertisement sales and is a free publication, distributed throughout the Denver Metro area as well as other parts of Colorado. An annual mail subscription can be bought for $39.97 from the website.[citation needed]
It has a main circulation of 10,000 copies distributed at more than 250 locations in the Denver metropolitan area. In 2015, The Denver Post reported that the magazine had a reach of 76,000 people.[1]
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