DC AGENDA LAUNCHES
Former Employees of Washington Blade Vow to Continue Mission, Begin New Venture

WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Blade, formerly the nation’s oldest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper, died on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 9:30 AM. The 40-year-old paper ceased operation under the weight of its parent company’s financial problems. Window Media’s financial condition and the exact reasons for closing the Washington Blade remain unclear. No statement has been issued by the former executives from Atlanta, Miami or New York regarding how the decision to abruptly shut down the publication was made.

After Monday’s shuttering, 17 former employees vowed to not miss this Friday’s production of Washington DC’s LGBTQ news weekly. Today they delivered on that promise. At 9:30 AM this morning the publication that will replace the Washington Blade – DC Agenda – hit the streets. As demonstrated in the first issue, the new publication provides critical coverage of local and national LGBT issues along with much needed community news.

“The power and effectiveness of the Washington Blade did not die with the name,” said DC Agenda Publisher Lynne Brown, also former Publisher of the Washington Blade and employee of that publication for over 23 years. “That strength actually came from the spirit and intensity of those who wrote the stories and reached out to the community. It’s those same people who are the backbone of this new venture, a group that is the true definition of grit and resilience.”

“It’s been a tough week, but we have been buoyed by the outpouring of support from our colleagues, our community, people all over the city and even beyond DC,” said DC Agenda Editor Kevin Naff. “The DC Agenda represents former Blade employees’ commitment to carry on the important mission and work of the Blade,” said Naff. “We expect this effort to grow and evolve and to eventually include a larger and more diverse group of voices.”

The 17 former Blade staff members, who also celebrated that publication’s 40th anniversary last month, hand-distributed the first edition of DC Agenda on Friday November 20th, 2009 at 10:00 AM EST.

“We thank all those who have taken the risk of advertising in our new venture. We also would like to invite readers to visit our new news website at www.dcagenda.com and our temporary support website at www.savetheblade.com.” said Brown. “We are thrilled with what we achieved this week. This early iteration of our new newspaper is modest but…we did it! And we look forward to doing it again next week.” concluded Brown.

About DC Agenda: DC Agenda’s mission is to inform, enlighten and serve as the LGBTQ community’s news source.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynne Brown, publisher, 202-486-0625, lynnebrown222@comcast.net
Kevin Naff, editor, 410-404-0325, kevinnaff@yahoo.com

OurFamiliesCount.org Officially Launches
LGBT Community Bilingual Public Education Campaign for Accurate 2010 U.S. Census

November 10, 2009 Washington DC – Many leaders and advocates among America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community unite today in the launch of Our Families Count (www.ourfamiliescount.org) — a new voluntary public education initiative promoting LGBT visibility and participation in next year’s U.S. Census.

The new 2010 Census education project is a truly collaborative and unique strategy to unite disparate populations across the entire LGBT spectrum. The outreach effort is designed to educate all about the importance of responding to the once-a-decade Census.

Why LGBT Communities and Leaders Care about the 2010 Census

Expert demographer and Williams Institute Research Fellow Dr. Gary Gates described why the 2010 Census matters to the LGBT community especially, “Reliable information on LGBT people is hard to come by and the need for accurate knowledge is real. Census statistics guide many key government decisions. For LGBT citizens especially, statewide organizations and local community centers need information for planning services, while advocacy groups need to know more about the LGBT population as they lobby for resources.”

Gates also noted that, “Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct. For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color). Although the 2010 Census does not include questions on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Census count of same-sex partners and their families provides vital information for and about the LGBT community.”

It also is important to emphasize that Census information is never shared with other U.S. government agencies for the purpose of law enforcement or compliance with immigration laws. The Census is used only and confidentially to find out more about all American households and the U.S. population, and is never used to violate any person’s privacy. The Our Families Count campaign also takes no position on specific policy issues or questions.

For additional information generally on the 2010 Census: visit www.census.gov