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Los Angeles Blade
The Los Angeles Blade is an LGBT newspaper launched in 2017 as an offshoot of the Washington Blade.[1] HistoryThe Los Angeles Blade was launched as a biweekly newspaper in 2017 to serve "the second largest market in the country, and one that was underserved by alternative media."[2][3] Production was hastened in response to the election of Donald Trump, with Kevin Naff, co-owner of Blade parent company Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia Inc., remarking in 2017 that "A lot of cities, including L.A., are changing the tones of their parades, from a celebration to more of a protest. We wanted to be part of that, a kind of voice in that process."[4] In 2018, the Los Angeles Blade announced plans to publish a weekly print edition, thereby becoming first weekly LGBT+ media product serving Los Angeles since the mid-1980s.[5] During the 2022 mpox outbreak in California, the Los Angeles Blade hosted two town hall meetings — one in West Hollywood and another in Monterey Park — to alert residents to the emerging threat.[6][7] In August 2024, the newspaper, seeking to address the changing news needs resulting from historic demographic shifts in Southern California, announced a partnership with CALÓ News, a Latinx community-focused news outlet.[8] Soon thereafter, the newspaper announced Gisselle Palomera as the News Editor.[9] Publisher Troy Masters died unexpectedly on December 11, 2024. The newspaper's management team has announced that the organization will continue under the leadership of local editor Gisselle Palomera.[10] Circulation and demographicsNews coverage focuses mainly on global and regional political issues concerning LGBT+ persons with additional coverage of entertainment and nightlife in the Los Angeles area. The Blade is distributed throughout Southern California, with a focus on areas with significant LGBT+ populations, such as West Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Los Feliz, and as far as Palm Springs.[11] Distribution points include businesses with a large number of LGBT+ clients, including restaurants, bars, gyms, gay bathhouses and the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and home delivery is available in select West Hollywood and Hollywood residential neighborhoods.[12] Overall, 48% of the Blade's readership holds a college degree.[13] Awards and recognitionIn 2023, the newspaper received GLAAD’s Barbara Gittings Award for Excellence in LGBTQ Media.[14] For its coverage of HIV news, the newspaper was the runner-up in the "Health and Health Care" category at the 2024 California Ethnic Media Awards.[15] See alsoReferences
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