News and history.

The September 30, 1996, New York Magazine ran a cover story titled "We're Here! We're Queer! Let's Get Coffee!" In the article the author maintained that our once radical gay culture seemed to be losing its edge, deteriorating instead into a parade of pink triangles and dull glossy monthlies while gays happily homogenized themselves into the mainstream. The most significant aspect of the article was not what it said, however, but what it failed to say. It never mentioned The Advocate.

How could it? As we begin celebrating our 30th anniversary, The Advocate's irrepressible, penetrating edge is fully intact-and with good results. For the fourth year in a row, 1996 found us winning the prestigious Folio: Editorial Excellence Award for Best Newsmagazine in America while picking up five Maggie Award Certificates for Excellence as well as a merit award for design from the Society of Publication Designers. In addition, The Advocate received the prestigious Lambda Liberty Award this year for extraordinary vision, commitment, and contributions to lesbian and gay culture and politics. So if the goal is to assimilate and act as if the struggle for equal rights is over, then hard-hitting investigative reporting; comprehensive coverage of gay and lesbian political medical, and financial news; no-nonsense in-depth interviews; incisive commentary from colorful columnists; and informative stories about the arts just won't do it.

However, if you do think that it's time to relax and assimilate, it's clear you're not getting your news from The Advocate - or anywhere else. Because if you think it's safe to be here, be queer, and sip lattes, then you missed out not only on the U.S. Senate's passing the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act (85-14) in September but also on one of the people they were defending this sacred right for: a convicted and incarcerated serial rapist and killer. Yes, the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, got legally married in America in 1996 - and our Congress and president say we can't!

Clearly, there are plenty of battles left to fight in a civil rights struggle that began 30 years ago in the pages of this magazine, a straggle that continues into 1997 and the next century. In September 1967 - two years before the Stonewall riots - with the help of a used typewriter and a copy machine, The Advocate was born with a mission, a mission to disseminate crucial information to gay men and lesbians. Now, as the magazine of record goes into its 30th year, the goals are precisely the same - although our skills and the tools to chronicle the triumphs and trials of gay and lesbian history have grown impressively with the times.

This past year alone The Advocate staff broke a number of exclusive news stories dealing with, among other topics, the Ryan White Act and the testing of newborns; Utah high school student Kelli Peterson's struggle to start a straight-gay alliance in her school; Washington, D.C.'s closeted congressmen; Rent's only big gay star, Anthony Rapp; Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant's decision to say he's gay; Cher's difficult coming-out as the mother of a lesbian; Liza Minnelli's confession that she didn't know her late husband, Peter Allen, was gay; the thinking of gay Republicans; how Sharon Bottoms is dealing with the loss of her son to her mother; how Bob Pads is dealing with gay divorce; and what the real health picture is for those battling AIDS with new drugs.

Not only was The Advocate there first, but in the case of President Clinton and the saga of gay marriage, a news story in our May 14, 1996, issue provoked a senior meeting at the White House that ultimately contributed to the Administration's position on same-sex marriage. More than getting the news first, we're sometimes a catalyst for it. That's the legacy of The Advocate.

And to help celebrate and continue this legacy, early in 1997 we will unveil the magazine's official cover-to-cover redesign. As the definitive, forward-thinking source of gay and lesbian news, The Advocate has always responded appropriately to changes in the word around us. And so our new design will offer a more exciting and provocative way to synthesize the amazing amount of information currently available about our lives. More important, the magazine will be able to bring a true understanding of this information to our readers. Are random news events simply that, or will they add up to a serious trend, a bigger issue that needs to be investigated, analyzed, and prepared for? With renewed determination and a fresh, comprehensive design, The Advocate will be even more successful at anticipating, reporting, and forecasting the news. Then this news, in a few short years, can join all the coverage that has filled The Advocate's pages since 1967 and become a permanent part of our fabric, our history, and our legacy.

Being the oldest gay and lesbian newsmagazine of record is an interesting position to be in. We are the keeper of the flame, while at the same time we are breaking into the future. And I, for one, feel it every day. After all, there was a time when only gay men worked on and filled the pages of this publication. Lesbians simply assumed they didn't belong. So last August, when the magazine appointed me as its first female editor in chief, The Advocate once again made both news and history at the same time.