I don't know where we would be without the Bay Area Reporter and the LGBTQ press.
It's thankless work. The staff toil long hours for little pay. They ask the tough questions. Sometimes they get no respect. But they are there for all of us. They are the people who bring us the news in our LGBTQ community. They are the LGBTQ press. They are the B.A.R. And they have helped make this world a safer and fairer place for all of us for 45 years.
When I graduated from law school and settled in San Francisco in 1987, HIV/AIDS was an emergency epidemic and queer people had no rights. The "gay mecca," San Francisco, and in fact the entire state of California, had managed to elect less than a dozen openly LGBT officials, including the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk and his handpicked successor, Harry Brit. We had very little political power. The "mainstream community" didn't take us seriously. When we were mentioned in the mainstream press, like the San Francisco Chronicle or the San Francisco Examiner , we were still talked about as "them" and we were oddities, to be sure.
Naturally in 1987 I did what people did back then when you wanted to know something new. I picked up a copy of the newspaper to see what was going on. What I found was a vibrant LGBT press in San Francisco and in particular I found the B.A.R. Nowhere else could I get information on LGBT news, politics, health, crime, athletics, recreation, commentary, literature and film, and just about any other queer topic I could imagine. These stories could not be found in the mainstream press anywhere in the country.
As I became involved in San Francisco's political world in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I learned more about the power and reach of the B.A.R. and the LGBTQ press. I watched as the LGBTQ community met the challenge of HIV/AIDS and channeled anger and fear into political power. I saw the consolidation of that power as queer politician after queer politician got elected in San Francisco. More importantly, I saw the queer elected officials begin to bring justice and reforms to public policy that not only changed San Francisco but also helped change the nation. And through it all, it was the B.A.R. and the LGBTQ press that covered the issues, asked the questions, remained persistent and informed a new generation of queers in San Francisco.
As a legislative aide for a lesbian Latina on the Board of Supervisors in the 1990s, I was privileged to work with many talented members of the LGBTQ press, including two stellar representatives in Dennis Conkin and Cynthia Laird, intrepid queer reporters who were smart, tenacious, mature, professional, balanced, fair, and TOUGH! Conkin overcame a tragic childhood, typical for many queer children of his era, but a life that would have broken most people " instead he became one of the truly fine reporters of his era: principled, resourceful, and so very smart. Laird was one of the best, most diligent reporters I have ever met and went on to become the extremely talented news editor of the B.A.R. where she continues to guide the paper. More recently, I have had the honor of working with Matthew S. Bajko as he steadfastly covered the many issues impacting LGBTQ seniors, an issue very dear to my heart.
Does it matter that we have the B.A.R. and a queer press? It sure does matter. I have personally seen the commitment of the B.A.R. as it continues to cover myriad issues that affect our community, both directly and indirectly. What mainstream news organization regularly and seriously covers LGBTQ issues? Here's the quick answer: NONE! The mainstream press covers our issues sparingly, and that is being charitable. For the most part, the LGBTQ community is largely invisible, even in 2016.
I will leave you with one important example. From 2010 to 2014, I helped lead a groundbreaking effort to improve services in San Francisco for LGBTQ seniors. During those four years, I worked closely with the B.A.R.'s staff to highlight our concerns, educate the public about what needed to be done, create political momentum, raise needed private funds for a research project, reach out to seniors and other community stakeholders for feedback, and disseminate the report and recommendations produced by the effort and ultimately persuade the city government to act (and they did).
This was all accomplished with the assistance of the B.A.R. 's reporting and editorializing. Although we pleaded with the mainstream media for press coverage, we got almost none. The B.A.R. on the other hand has published literally dozens of articles on LGBT seniors, the efforts of the LGBT Aging Policy Task Force and the recommendations in our final report. Even since the task force disbanded, the B.A.R. has continued to follow up on the recommendations and pressed elected officials for response. Quite simply, if it weren't for the B.A.R., we would not have been able to accomplish what we did, and certainly most of the LGBTQ community would never have learned about it in the first place.
So I really don't know where we would be without the B.A.R. , and I am glad we don't know. As long as there is an LGBTQ community, there must be a B.A.R. to cover it.
Bill Ambrunn is an attorney and nonprofit fundraiser who works for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.