Largest US Gay Newspaper Publisher Closes

The largest US publisher of newspapers serving the gay and lesbian community has shut down and plans to file for bankruptcy. Employees arrived at work today to find out about the sudden end to the newspapers—including Southern Voice, the Washington Blade, Houston Voice and South Florida Blade—owned by Window Media LLC.

"Window Media long provided a very special outlet for the gay community to learn about itself way before there were a lot of other places to find that type of thing," said Michael Musto, an openly gay writer for the Village Voice in New York, which is owned by Village Voice Media Holdings. "This was the gay community writing about itself, and that's a voice we should never lose." (More newspapers stories.)