Southern Voice (newspaper)

Last updated

Southern Voice
Southern Voice logo.png
Southern Voice, October 20-26, 1994.jpg
Front page for October 20–26, 1994
Owner(s)DRT Media Group
Founder(s)Christina Cash
Founded1988
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publicationDecember 2, 2010 (2010-12-02)
RelaunchedApril 16, 2010 (2010-04-16)
Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia
OCLC number 30371411

Southern Voice (commonly known as SoVo) was a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender newspaper in Atlanta and the Southeast United States.

Contents

History

It was founded by Atlanta native Christina Cash as an independent publication in 1988. It published until August 1997 and was then purchased by Window Media, who also bought rights to the name. Window bought and then published several gay-oriented newspapers in the United States. It focused mainly on global and regional political issues concerning LGBT persons. Southern Voice was a member of the National Gay Newspaper Guild.

Southern Voice claimed over 100,000 readers, the most widely read LGBT paper in the region. [1]

On November 16, 2009, Southern Voice and several related publications, including the Washington Blade , were shut down as Window Media closed up shop. [2]

The US Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta auctioned the assets of Southern Voice in February 2010. The rights to the names, trademarks, and archives of Southern Voice and David Atlanta magazine were sold to Matt Neumann, publisher of Gaydar magazine for $9.000[ clarification needed ]. Southern Voice was revived on April 16, 2010, though with an erratic printing schedule and complaints about quality control. [3] DavidAtlanta magazine reappeared on March 10.[ citation needed ]

The paper ceased publishing after the December 2, 2010, issue. David Atlanta and Southern Voice were sold in August 2011 to David Thompson. According to DRT Media Group, Southern Voice is not being considered for re-launch in the foreseeable future. David Atlanta transitioned into Peach Atlanta and is published weekly.

Christina Cash, founder of SoVo, launched GA Voice in March, 2010. Her attempt to buy the name "Southern Voice" was unsuccessful in bankruptcy court. She launched the newspaper with partners Laura Douglas-Brown and Tim Boyd. Several SoVo staff members joined the GA Voice staff. GAVO is still publishing as of February, 2022.

Early issues of Southern Voice dating from 1988 to 1995 are available online through the Digital Library of Georgia. [4]

Financial woes

Avalon Equity Fund, an investment fund that owns several gay media outlets including Washington Blade, South Florida Blade, 411 magazine, David Atlanta, Southern Voice (SoVo) and Genre magazine was found to be in a condition the Small Business Administration (SBA) refers to as "capital impairment". This means that Avalon did not maintain the necessary outside investments required under the terms of loans borrowed from the SBA totaling US$38 million. A lawsuit filed by SBA revealed that Avalon had little or no outside capital left due to divestiture by investors, losses in revenue or asset values or a combination of the three. Avalon Equity Fund is in receivership with SBA, which will allow SBA to sell off its assets to satisfy the loans.

In November 2009, the paper was shut down because of the financial status of its parent company, Window Media and its majority stockholder, Avalon Equity Fund. [5] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Washington Blade</i> American LGBT newspaper

The Washington Blade is an LGBT newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the Philadelphia Gay News and the Gay City News of New York City. The Blade is often referred to as America's gay newspaper of record because it chronicled LGBT news locally, nationally, and internationally. The New York Times said the Blade is considered "one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience."

<i>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</i> Daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. The two staffs were combined in 1982. Separate publication of the morning Constitution and the afternoon Journal ended in 2001 in favor of a single morning paper under the Journal-Constitution name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Bond</span> American social activist (1940–2015)

Horace Julian Bond was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1971, he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and served as its first president for nearly a decade.

An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Its news coverage is more locally focused, and their target audiences are younger than those of daily newspapers. Typically, alternative newspapers are published in tabloid format and printed on newsprint. Other names for such publications include alternative weekly, alternative newsweekly, and alt weekly, as the majority circulate on a weekly schedule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creative Loafing</span> Publisher in Atlanta, Georgia, US

Creative Loafing was an Atlanta-based publisher of a monthly arts and culture newspaper/magazine. The company publishes a 60,000 circulation monthly publication which is distributed to in-town locations and neighborhoods on the first Thursday of each month. The company has historically been a part of the alternative weekly newspapers association in the United States.

Window Media LLC was a gay press publishing holding company that acquired and operated gay and lesbian newspapers and magazines in the 2000s. In 2009 it ceased operations following bankruptcy.

The Bay Area Reporter is a free weekly LGBT newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of the largest-circulation LGBT newspapers in the United States, and the country's oldest continuously published newspaper of its kind.

Russ Smith is an American newspaper publisher and columnist best known for founding the Baltimore City Paper, Washington City Paper and New York Press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norm Kent</span> American publisher, attorney, radio show host, writer (1949–2023)

Norman Elliott Kent was an American criminal defense attorney, publisher, and radio talk show host.

<i>South Florida Blade</i>

The South Florida Blade, formerly The Express Gay News, was a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the southern Florida area. The Express was a member of the National Gay Newspaper Guild.

<i>The New York Blade</i> A weekly newspaper, in NYC, focused on LGBT issues

The New York Blade was a free weekly newspaper focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in New York City, New York. The Blade was a member of the National Gay Newspaper Guild, and contained news, entertainment, classified ads, and free personals for men and women.

<i>David Atlanta</i>

David Atlanta magazine was an Atlanta-based weekly periodical for the gay community. It was owned by gay press publisher Window Media until Window Media closed operations, and ceased publication on November 16, 2009.

<i>New York Native</i> Defunct gay newspaper published in New York City

The New York Native was a biweekly gay newspaper published by Charles Ortleb in New York City from December 1980 until January 13, 1997. It was the only gay paper in New York City during the early part of the AIDS epidemic, and pioneered reporting on AIDS when most others ignored it. The paper subsequently became known for attacking the scientific understanding of HIV as the cause of AIDS and endorsing HIV/AIDS denialism.

<i>Q-Notes</i>

Q-Notes is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper serving North Carolina and South Carolina. It is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Published every other week, it has a circulation of 11,000 print copies and is the largest print publication serving the LGBT community in the American Southeast. The paper traces its origins to the monthly newsletter of the Queen City Quordinators, a Charlotte LGBT organization, which they began publishing in 1983. In 1986, Qnotes changed to a monthly tabloid. In 2006, it merged with the Raleigh, N.C. LGBT newspaper The Front Page.

<i>The Georgia Voice</i>

The Georgia Voice is an LGBT-oriented bi-weekly newspaper based in Atlanta, Georgia. The paper updates online daily and produces a print edition every two weeks. The newspaper debuted on March 19, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven West Media</span> Australian media company

Seven West Media Limited is an Australian ASX-listed media company and is Australia's largest diversified media business, with an extensive presence in broadcast television, radio, print and online publishing.

The state of Georgia mostly improved in its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents in the years after 1970, when LGBT residents began to openly establish events, organizations and outlets for fellow LGBT residents and increase in political empowerment.

Bay Windows is an LGBT newspaper, published weekly on Thursdays and Fridays in Boston, Massachusetts, serving the entire New England region of the United States. The paper is a member of the New England Press Association and the National Gay Newspaper Guild.

The Houston Voice, originally known as The Montrose Star, was a bi-weekly newspaper published on alternating Wednesdays in Houston, Texas. A subsequent newspaper is now known as Montrose Star ISSN (2163-050X). The newspaper is targeted to the LGBT community in southeast Texas as well as Austin and San Antonio.

References

  1. "The Southern Voice". Southern Voice Online. 2007. Archived from the original on December 16, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  2. Staff writers (November 16, 2009). "SHOCK: Blade Publisher Window Media Closes". Queerty. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  3. Project Q Atlanta (September 30, 2010). "Has Southern Voice gone missing in action?".
  4. Digital Library of Georgia. "Southern Voice newspaper collection" . Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  5. Wheatley, Thomas (November 16, 2009), "UPDATE: Southern Voice, David shut down", Creative Loafin, archived from the original on November 19, 2009, retrieved November 16, 2009
  6. Swartz, Kristi (November 16, 2009), "Southern Voice, longtime gay and lesbian newspaper, shuts down", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, retrieved November 16, 2009
  7. "Southern Voice, David close, cease publication". Project Q Atlanta. November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.