Everyone has a magazine they read growing up. The one in which they remember feeling heard, seen and represented. For 56 years, The Advocate has served as that publication for LGBTQ+ readers looking for news, politics, the environment, pop culture and sports.
And like every legacy publication, The Advocate is expanding its platform, meeting its audience where they are. The Advocate Channel, in beta now with an official launch later this month, will stream 24/7 on a dedicated digital channel as well as on YouTube.
The Advocate’s editor in chief, Desiree Guerrero, said the channel will continue to deliver on The Advocate’s mission, while also offering something new.
“It’s not just LGBTQ+-exclusive content, which it was kind of for a while,” Guerrero told Adweek. “Statistics are showing younger audiences, more than ever, care about issues outside of their own demographic.”
Back where it all began
The Advocate was born during the civil rights era after a police raid on The Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles in January 1967. In response, the L.A.-based activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) launched a newsletter called The Advocate.
Richard Mitch, Bill Rau, Aristide Laurent and Sam Winston transformed the newsletter into a newspaper and called it The Los Angeles Advocate. The first issue debuted in September 1967, circulating around local gay bars for 25 cents. As time went on, the publication went through various owners and today is owned and operated by LGBTQ+ media company Equal Pride.
“The personalized connection that The Advocate has with the reader has kept it around, and will keep it going for decades,” said Mark Berryhill, CEO of Equal Pride.
Guerrero said The Advocate Channel will allow the publication “to go back to the original spirit of the magazine.”
The fight for attention
The Advocate’s editorial team is well aware of the struggle to capture consumers’ attention. Readers may only have 5 or 10 minutes to catch up on the news, so publishers must offer something unique. “We’re not competing with other outlets. We’re competing with how much time do you really have to go online to read,” said Berryhill.
