For many reasons, 2009 is a year we'd like to forget. From stunning losses for marriage equality in California, Maine, and New York state to the lackluster support from President Barack Obama for equal rights, this year was one disappointment after another.
But it was the recession that had the most affect on our nation and the world. The global economic downturn has resulted in record unemployment here in California, which also continues to face the fallout from a massive state budget deficit.
The Bay Area Reporter has not been immune to the hardships faced by the newspaper industry. Newspapers face an uncertain future in this Internet age. Our counterparts in mainstream media outlets have hemorrhaged jobs. Foreign and domestic bureaus have closed. Newspapers have downsized their sections and in some cases have ceased publication. And the revenue generated by online advertising has yet to materialize. The economic downturn helped to hasten the decline of newspapers. When home sales dried up, so did real estate advertising. With the auto industry on life support, new car ads came to a halt.
But the truth is that mainstream newspapers have been dying a slow death for years, as classified advertising, once a lucrative source of revenue, migrated to the Internet where it's free.
The same thing happened to us. We, too, have been losing classified ads over the last several years. But an increase in display ads made up for that until this past year. Any reader who has picked up a copy of the paper will see that on most weeks, the news and arts sections are a mere 16 pages each.
The national gay newspaper industry suffered a big loss this year with the shuttering of the Washington Blade, which until its abrupt closure was the country's oldest LGBT newspaper. Window Media, which owned the paper, also closed Southern Voice and at least three other publications as the company's majority stockholder, Avalon Equity Partners, had been under receivership with the U.S. Small Business Administration since 2008 and had failed to meet its obligations. The Advocate , the LGBT monthly magazine, also laid off staff in the fall and announced that beginning in 2010 it will no longer be a stand alone publication.
If we are to continue into 2010, and the Bay Area Reporter has every intention of doing just that, it's time for the local LGBT business community to step up and support what is now the country's oldest gay newspaper. Covering a niche community as we do does insulate us somewhat from the national trends affecting print publications, but we can't do it without advertising support.
We sincerely appreciate those business owners who have continued advertising with us during these tough times. Their support has enabled us to do our job keeping the LGBT community informed and focusing on our issues to continue our ongoing struggle against discrimination and supporting equal rights.
Hurray for Houston
January 4 will begin on a bright note when Annise Parker is sworn in as mayor of Houston, the nation's fourth largest city. Parker won her runoff election earlier this month in spite of nasty gay-baiting by her opponent's supporters.
Parker strikes us as a no-nonsense leader who is politically savvy. She certainly has what it takes to lead Houston. Already, the city's tourism folks are betting that more LGBT travelers will want to visit the city.
Like most cities these days, Houston has its share of problems due to the recession. It's fortunate that Parker has the financial skill and experience to run the city.