LPI Media
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{{Infobox_Company |
company_name = LPI Media |
company_logo = [[Image:LPIlogo.gif|200px]] |
company_type = [[Private company]]<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/> |
company_slogan = |
foundation = [[1997]] |
location = [[Los Angeles, California]], [[United States|USA]]<ref name="LPI Media Inc. Company Profile"/> |
founder = |
key_people = [[Bob Cohen]], Interim President<br>[[Stephen Murray]], Director Corporate Marketing,<br>[[Jeff Lettiere]], Director Circulation, [[The Advocate]]<ref name="LPI Media Inc. Company Profile">{{cite web
| last =Hemscott Americas
| title=LPI Media Inc. Company Profile
| publisher=Yahoo Finance
| date=[[28 December]], 2007
| url
=http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/132/132915.html
| accessdate=2007-12-28}}</ref> |
foundation = |
num_employees = |
industry = [[Publishing]] - [[Periodicals]]<ref name="LPI Media Inc. Company Profile"/> |
products = ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'',<br>''[[The Advocate]]'',<br>''HIV Plus'',<br>''Out Traveler,<br>[[Alyson Publications|Alyson Books]],<br>[[Specialty Publications]]|
revenue = {{profit}}$$29.0 million. [[United States dollar|USD]] ([[2005]])<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/>|
operating_income = |
net_income = |
homepage = [http://www.LPIMagazines.com/ LPIMagazines.com]
}}
'''LPI Media''' (formerly '''Liberation Publications Inc.''')<ref name="Four questions">[http://www.magazine.org/independent_publishers/The_Four_Questions/#landry Four Questions for Joe Landry, SVP/Publisher, LPI Media''], Magazine Publishers of America, 2006-2007. Retrieved [[29 December]] 2007.</ref> is the largest [[gay]] and [[lesbian]] publisher in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_March_22/ai_60499233 ''PlanetOut and Publisher of the Advocate Sign Letter of Intent to Merge and Form Powerful New Media Company'']. Business Wire. March 22, 2000. Retrieved [[29 December]] 2007.</ref> The company targets [[LGBT]] communities and publishes such media as, magazines, books, and web sites, with its magazines alone having more than 8.2 million copies distributed each year.<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/> ''[[The Advocate]]'' and ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' magazines are the two largest circulation LGBT magazines in the United States, each with corresponding websites; Advocate.com and OUT.com, respectively.<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/>
Additional publications include ''Out Traveler'', ''HIV Plus'', and LGBT penned titles through [[Alyson Publications|Alyson Books]] making it the "largest publisher of gay and lesbian print publications" and thus the largest print voice of the LGBT communities, including [[transgender]] and to a lesser degree [[bisexual]] people.<ref name="Howard Rice Represents">{{cite web
| last =Goodson
| first =Deborah
| title=Howard Rice Represents PlanetOut Inc. in Acquisition of LPI Media Inc.
| publisher=Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin
| date= 2005-11-09
| url
=http://www.howardrice.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.contentDetail&ID=8468&tID=224
| accessdate=2007-12-28}}</ref>
They are also parent owners of [[Specialty Publications]], which produces adult ([[pornography]]) publications ''[[Men (magazine)|MEN]]'', formerly ''Advocate Men'', ''FreshMen'', ''Unzipped'', and ''[2]''. Specialty Publications is one of the largest gay adult erotica web and video production companies in the world.
__TOC__
==History==
{{gay rights}}
Liberation Publications began with a [[police]] raid at the Black Cat bar in Los Angeles in 1966 prompting a handful of gay men to start a [[mimeograph]]ed sheet newsletter for the gay community which grew into ''[[The Advocate]]'' magazine the following year and remained the only national [[LGBT]] magazine for nearly twenty-five years.<ref name="Happy Bday"/><ref>[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/09/07/BU89346.DTL ''PlanetOut Expands Its Universe: Gay media gets big as Web firm acquires print magazines''] by Dan Fost, San Francisco Chronicle. [[7 September]] [[2000]]. Retrieved [[29 december]] [[2007]].</ref>
In February of 2000, Liberation acquired Out Publishing Inc. which publishes ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' and ''HIV Plus'' magazines.<ref name="Merger to link, NYTIMES">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=technology&res=9E04E1DE173DF930A15750C0A9669C8B63&fta=y THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Merger to Link Gay Print and Internet Outlets''] By ALEX KUCZYNSKI, The New York Times. [[23 March]] [[2000]]. Retrieved [[29 December]] [[2007]].</ref> Then president and chief executive of Liberation, James Franklin, said the deal would "move the print properties into the electronic arena." and added that the [[Internet]] was popular with gay and lesbian readers because of ''the [[closeted|closet]] factor.''<ref name="Merger to link, NYTIMES"/> PlanetOut attempted in March 2000 to merge with LPI, but it was called off in March 2001.<ref name="planetout merger" >{{Citation | last = Keegan | first = Andrew | title = PlanetOut merger creates gay media giant | newspaper = Southern Voice | date = 2005-11-18 | url = http://www.sovo.com/2005/11-18/news/national/nationalnews_gayout.cfm }}.</ref>
''Out Traveler'', a magazine spin-off of ''Out'' launched in 2003.<ref name="Four questions"/>
In November 2005 LPI merged with [[Planet Out]], which mainly has developed online properties to become the world's largest media company targeting the LGBT communities. LPI's "solid accounts list of fashion, retail and consumer packaged goods advertisers" was cited amongst the strong selling points.<ref name="planetout merger"/><ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/> Criticism of the merger has centered on two aspects; that a [[consolidation]] of national media outlets of a minority community is unlikely to add [[diversity]] of voices and that the publications were established and supported in an effort to secure [[human rights]] for gays and lesbians but now are instead delivering a [[market share]] to corporations.<ref name="planetout merger"/>
In April, 2008, the magazines published by LPI as well as the porn magazines published by Specialty Publications were sold by PlanetOut to [[Regent Releasing]], which owns [[here!]], a cable television network catering to LGBT audiences.<ref name="sass">{{Citation | last = Sass | first = Erik | title = PlanetOut Is Out Of Publishing (And $26 Million) | journal = MediaDailyNews | date = 2007-04-14 | url = http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=8043 }}.</ref>
==The Advocate==
{{Main|The Advocate}}
''[[The Advocate]]'', "the (LGBT) community's leading national news source since 1967."<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/><ref name="Happy Bday">Judy Wieder [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2002_Nov_12/ai_94598231 ''Happy birthday to us - letter from the editor in chief''] Advocate, The. Nov 12, 2002. Retrieved [[29 December]] [[2007]].</ref> It is the oldest continuing gay publication in the United States with the website for the magazine containing approximately thirty percent of the print issue online and is updated daily. First published by Dick Michaels and Bill Rand, of the Los Angeles [[activist]] group PRIDE in Los Angeles in 1967 as ''The Los Angeles Advocate'', it was renamed ''The Advocate'' in 1969 and distributed nationally. David Goodstein, an investment banker from [[San Francisco]], bought the publication in 1974 instituting several changes to the publication fully transforming it into a national news magazine covering events important to the LGBT community, including the [[gay rights]] movement, art and culture. Goldstein's later editorials reflected his years as a participant in the LGBT community's fight for civil liberties. Soon after Goodstein's death 1985, the magazine changed hands through acquisitions, and is currently published by LPI Media, a division of [[PlanetOut Inc.]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/history/archive/advocate.html | title = "What Is the History of The Advocate?" | publisher = [[PlanetOut.com]] | author = Wik Wikholm | date = | accessdate = 2007-02-10 }}</ref>
==Out==
{{Main|Out (magazine)}}
''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'', a "popular lifestyle magazine that celebrates the spirit of gay culture, including fashion and style, trends, society, and the arts", was founded by Michael Goff in 1992.<ref name="Howard Rice Represents"/> A key ingredient in Out's success in attracting mainstream and high-end advertisers who had never considered targeting the LGBT market was the magazine's offering of a safe environment in which no adult material or personal classifieds were published. By removing this barrier, advertisers were comfortable to utilize this new national print media vehicle to reach a marginalized audience and effectively showcase their products and services. With the advertising revenue Out was able to secure world-class writers and contributors such as writers [[Josh Kilmer-Purcell]], [[Dale Peck]],<ref name="canning">{{citation |title=Hear Us Out: Conversations with Gay Novelists |first=Richard |last=Canning |year=2003 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0231128673 |page=327-47}}</ref> [[Dan Savage]],<ref name=AV-club>[http://www.avclub.com/content/node/45150 Dan Savage interviewed by Tasha Robinson], ''The A.V. Club'', [[February 8]] [[2006]].</ref><ref>Dan Savage, Introduction, ''Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist'', [[op. cit.]], pp. 1-5.</ref> [[Mark Simpson (journalist)|Mark Simpson]],<ref name=details>{{cite news|author=Collard, James|date=May 24, 2006|title=Salon vs. Details|publisher=Times Online|url=http://timesonline.typepad.com/gay_global/2006/05/more_on_mark_si.html}}</ref> [[Michael Joseph Gross]],<ref>[http://www.michaeljosephgross.com/about_me.html Michael Joseph Gross | STARSTRUCK: When A Fan Gets Close to Fame | about me<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Normal Bob Smith]],<ref>[http://www.americanatheist.org/conv29 29th atheist convention, speakers list]</ref><ref>[http://www.bobsmithmovie.com Bob Smith USA]</ref> and photographers such as [[Ben Watts]].<ref>[http://www.benwatts.com/ Ben Watts<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.photographerslimitededitions.com/index.php?cPath=1_105&bio=1&XTCsid=7f83b7fe8e5efce216b2c00eb3eb2990 Photographers Limited Editions - BEN WATTS<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In less than two years, Out circulation and scope of advertisers surpassed that of then forty-year-old ''[[The Advocate]]'', then the only other national gay magazine. Out has the highest circulation of any gay monthy publication in the United States and carries itself in a similar editorial manner to ''[[Details (magazine)|Details]]'' and ''[[GQ]]''.
==HIV Plus==
''[[HIV]] Plus'' magazine is based in Los Angeles and was founded by [[Anne-christine D'Adesky]] in 1998.<ref name="About HIV Plus"/><ref name="Amfar Award">[http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/events/award/?record=27 Amfar Award of Courage Honorees]</ref> Instead of subscriptions the "national magazine [is] distributed at doctors' offices and organizations offering services for [[People With AIDS|people with AIDS]]" including [[AIDS service organization]]s, HIV community-based groups, and physicians’ offices as well as some other qualifying groups and organizations<ref name="LeRoy Whitfield, 36, Dies"/><ref name="About HIV Plus">[http://www.hivplusmag.com/about.asp HIV Plus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Offering "the latest stories on research, economics, and treatment"<ref>[http://www.valleyaidsinfo.org/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=45&Itemid=30 ''HIV/AIDS Online Magazines'']</ref> ''HIV Plus'' provides "news that raises awareness of HIV-related cultural and policy developments in the United States and throughout the world"<ref name="About HIV Plus"/> including issues of "cultural stereotypes about incarceration, drug use, and HIV".<ref>[http://wbmt.wordpress.com/2007/07/14/hiv-plus-magazine-article-janfeb-2007/ HIV PLUS MAGAZINE ARTICLE (Jan/Feb 2007) « What Black Men Think<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
{{cquote|I was the AIDS and Health Editor at OUT Magazine for a couple of years, and I found that the scientific information I needed to report was getting increasingly complex. While there was a small group of long-time activists who had amassed a lot of technical expertise, the vast majority of my readers didn't have this background, and many of them needed to be making treatment decisions for themselves. So I started HIV Plus in 1998, to address this gap. During my tenure as editor, I tried to provide state-of-the-art science reporting that was accessible at different levels, so that anyone who cared could become engaged, and have some say in the ongoing dialogue. -- Anne-christine D'Adesky<ref name="Amfar Award"/>}}
Notable writers and contributors include photographer [[Steve Azzara]], contributing fitness editor [[Sam Jensen Page]], columnist [[LeRoy Whitfield]] whose "Native Tongue" column ran in ''HIV Plus'' magazine since [[May 2004]] and was "one of the magazine's most popular features".<ref name="LeRoy Whitfield, 36, Dies">[http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/nyregion/16whitfield.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ''LeRoy Whitfield, 36, Dies; Wrote of AIDS Battle''] by The New York Times
Published: October 16, 2005 </ref>
==Alyson Publications==
{{Main|Alyson Publications}}
[[Alyson Publications|Alyson Books]] is a publisher founded in [[Boston, Massachusetts]] by Sasha Alyson which specializes in [[feminist]] and LGBT fiction and nonfiction. Notable books and authors published by Alyson include: ''[[Young, Gay and Proud]]''; the ''[[Dykes to Watch Out For]]'' cartoon series, by [[Alison Bechdel]]; ''Melting Point'', ''Doing it for Daddy'', ''[[Macho Sluts]]'' and ''Doc and Fluff'' by [[Pat Califia]]; ''[[Latter Days]]'', novelization by T. Fabris for the [[2003 in film|2003]] major motion picture of the same name; ''The Femme Mystique'' and ''Pillow Talk'' edited by [[Lesléa Newman]]; ''[[Revolutionary Voices]]: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology''; ''Love, Bourbon Street: Reflections of New Orleans'' winner [[Lambda Literary Award#2006 winners|2006 Lambda Literary Award]] for Anthology;<ref>http://www.lambdaliterary.org/ Lambda Literary Foundation</ref> ''[[Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out]]'' edited by [[Loraine Hutchins]] and [[Lani Ka'ahumanu]] and ''The Bisexual's Guide to the Universe'', winner [[Lambda Literary Award#2006 winners|2006 Lambda Literary Award]] for Bisexual category.<ref>http://www.lambdaliterary.org/ Lambda Literary Foundation</ref>
==Specialty Publications==
{{Main|Specialty Publications}}
LPI Media is the parent company of [[Specialty Publications]], an American publisher of adult gay [[erotic]] and [[pornography]] publications. Their ''[[Men (magazine)|Men]]'' magazine (formerly ''Advocate Men'') has been the top-selling gay male erotic magazine for over 25 years,<ref>[http://www.tlavideo.com/product/2-1120-250978_men-magazine-2008-calendar.html?sn=446 Error - Out in America Cities Network<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and tends to portray men aged 25 to 40. ''[[Freshmen (magazine)|Freshmen]]'' is an American erotic magazine published monthly since 1991 and is geared toward gay and bisexual men features photos of men aged 18-30 years old.<ref>[http://zoom.gay.com/viewArticle.do?id=979&selectedRegionId=7&selectedCountryId=12&selectedStateId=&selectedCityId= Freshmen magazine launches national tour | Gay.com Local Scene<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
''Freshmen'' has long been the best-seller in its [[genre]] and features top-line male porn models from [[Bel Ami (adult film company)|Bel Ami]], [[Falcon Entertainment|Falcon]], and others; ''Freshmen'' specializes in young but not [[twink (gay slang)|twinkish]] men, primarily 18 to 25 but some to age 30. Other items, such as calendars and playing cards, are also published using the same label.
"Freshman of the Year" contests are held with many fledgling porn stars going on to greater success including [[Sebastian Bonnet]], [[Roman Heart]],<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Freshmen/dp/B00005QDWM Amazon.com: Freshmen: Magazines<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Dick McKay,<ref>[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_McKay]</ref> Zack Randall,<ref>[http://www.papermag.com/blogs/2007/05/jd_ferguson_presents_the_porn_4.php PAPERMAG: WORD UP!: JD Ferguson Presents the Porn Stars: Zack Randall<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Timothy J. Boham|Marcus Allen]],<ref>[http://www.23hq.com/silent_monster/photo/1410975 23 Photo Sharing: Login<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>, and [[Billy Brandt]].<ref>[http://listing-index.ebay.com/actors/Billy_Brandt.html Actors - Billy Brandt<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Specialty Publications]] also produces ''Unzipped'', and ''[2]'' making it one of the largest gay adult erotica web and video production companies in the world.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.advocate.com The Advocate]
*[http://www.out.com OUT]
*[http://www.hivplusmag.com HIVPlus]
{{LGBT-footer}}
[[Category:LGBT media in the United States]]
[[Category:Magazine companies of the United States]]