Many years ago the main advertising in the Advocate came from personal ads. The only way they were going to get mainstream corporate advertising was if they ditched the personal ads, but if they ditched them, and did't attract the corporate sponsors, where would they be?
Well, we know they made that transition successfully. However, now they are in trouble again along with their parent company, PlanetOut (which has become the Rupert Murdoch of gay media - not in opinion, but in cross ownership verging on monopoly). The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that declining revenue from personal ads (we're talking about gay.com and planetout.com now) along with declining ad sales across all media as well as the inability to see their gay cruises (yes they have fingers in lots of pies) means they are going to run out of money by the end of the year.
They get lots of competition from other web sites for membership and personals nowadays, whether explicity sexual sites, dating sites and the totally free social networking sites. Magazine sales in all categories are down, as print as a medium is suffering. And their RSVP travel agency seems to be a bust.
The article does mention that one analyst suggests that the company is still the leader in terms of "reaching the gay demograpic." Of course, I have always taken issue with what people mean by that phrase. I expect that this phrase means that they are mostly interesting in reaching what I call the "demographically correct homosexual," a creature of high disposable income who spends a lot on travel, entertainment, fashion and home. It certainly doesn't include lesbians, since many, as women, even when successful, earn less simply because of the ongoing income disparity between men and women.
There is also the question of how relevant the Advocate is anymore. I get my queer news online on a daily basis. News from around the world. Of course, the Advocate had features that you can't find online. But I have to admit I find that I subscribe more out of a sense of loyalty to gay media than because I read it (which I barely do). But I do feel it is important that we have a voice, and a company that is strong enough and reaches enough people that it is powerful in the marketplace. Because in a capitalist democracy, the marketplace is part of what catalyzes social change.
Quite frankly, I think whoever has been running the business hasn't been paying attention to business. And that's sad, because for our community, a magazine is more than just 64 pages of articles and ads. And a website should be more than a place for a casual hookup. We deserve more. And that is perhaps one reason PNO is finding itself in this situation. Queer folk put their money where they are being served. Just like everyone else.
"media as well as the inability to see their gay cruises (yes they have fingers in lots of "
i think you typed 'see' instead of 'sell'
Posted by: amark | November 28, 2007 at 05:25 PM