outnorthwest has been produced by Manchester's The Lesbian and Gay Foundation for the past nine years and has built upon its humble roots as a 16-page community title to become a 72-page monthly magazine that services the LGB community, with a print run of 15,000 and a readership of 45,000.

However, it would appear that even established niche titles are not immune from the ramifications of the global economic crisis and the title has seemingly been forced to make some tough decisions to ensure its continued survival.

The old look onw

Advertising opportunities will also be cut to a premium as the team look to make the magazine 'almost exclusively editorially led.'

outnorthwest editor Grahame Robertson took the time to sit down and take How-Do through the plans for the title, insisting that less might well mean more for a title that's key objective is to serve its own community.

Why is outnorthwest switching from monthly to every other month frequency and dropping in pagination?

Issue 92 was always planned to incorporate a major revamp of the magazine. We had been in the previous format and design for almost five years, and the time was right to look at an overhaul.

With the beginning of a new financial year, it was also an opportunity to look at ways of saving money. And yes, the current financial climate was very much a factor in the decision to reduce frequency and pagination.

Robertson

Is this a financial or strategic move?

A bit of both.

The financial crisis has had an impact on outnorthwest. Advertising was becoming increasingly more difficult to secure, and some advertisers were finding it difficult to pay their bills.

At the end of the day, outnorthwest is a not-for-profit magazine published by a charity.  We have an obligation to our funders to provide value for money, and continuing outnorthwest in its previous form would have seen undue financial pressure being placed on the charity. 

This change in format allows us to pull back from commercial concerns as much, and focus on providing a title that fulfils the remit of The Lesbian & Gay Foundation.

It was absolutely the best decision in order to secure the future of outnorthwest.

Why have you taken the decision to include less advertising?

For reasons I've stated in my previous answer. We will still be accepting advertising on a limited basis, but reducing the amount of time we spend on the commercial aspect means we can spend more time on producing a magazine of relevance that meets the needs of our readers, the LGF, and our funders. 

Tatchell: on the front line

For example, we are planning various commercially focused 'pull-outs' - of which the first will be Manchester Pride. There will be many opportunities to advertise in outnorthwest in the coming months.

You have said that the title is undergoing a radical redesign - what does this entail?

The bottom line is we're going to look very different. New designs, new masthead. It'll be a much cleaner, modern design, and resemble much more of a 'news magazine' format, than a lifestyle magazine.

In saying that, we'll still be incorporating entertaining features and lifestyle elements (our relaunch issue carries an extensive feature on the tenth anniversary of Queer As Folk including interview with Russell T Davies, Craig Kelly and Antony Cotton).

Our relaunch issue also carries an interview with the parents of Michael Causer; and Peter Tatchell has written exclusively for us in the run-up to the European elections.

What other changes are in store for the title?

There will be tweaks and changes made as we go along, like any title. But, other than these current changes, there are no immediate plans for any more major changes to the magazine.

The new issue of outnorthwest will be available to pick up from 27 May.

www.lgf.org.uk

Did you enjoy this article? Please share it!

Comments (5)

1  By Silent Type , on 22-05-2009 01:36 Unfortunately the above article is not frank enough and there are serious omissions that are relevant to the questions being asked.     Mr Robertson is now boasting on the front page of the LGF website linking to this very article here on how-do that he is "talking frankly"about what really could be the end of the publication. OutNorthWest is no longer in the same league as GayTimes or DIVA or even some of the other free community mags that have been around longer despite him claims. It is being reduced to a bi-monthly "newsletter".    The real story here should be how OutNorthWest has finally been forced into a radical revamp because it has no choice. The only people who will support it now all the money from advertising has dried up are its readers.    The gay community in Manchester have become increasingly cynical and mistrust the LGF. If you stop a few people on the canal street on a Friday night and ask them what they think you'll probably get a few positive comments about "their free condoms" (actually paid for by the NHS) and the rest will be rather angry and reflect just how irritating the LGF have become.    For many years they have been swallowing up or suffocating small groups then setting up their own versions. To add insult to injury they completely ignore Transgender issues (unlike most other "gay" charities these days) and have a dubious record when it comes to their ethical behaviour and charitable operations.     Last year they were forced to remove advertising for "Poppers".    Only a few weeks ago the charity was warned by the Charities Commission around a dubious relationship with the Labour Party run hope not hate campaign and an event held at their headquarters featuring new labour celebrity spokesman Eddie Izzard.    In December gay media spectators concluded:    "The charity’s dubious relationship with commercial sponsors who profit from the “Pink Pound” in Manchester’s gay village recently prompted us to investigate....    the Lesbian and Gay Foundation may exist as a force for good, even though it appears the continuing influence of a small number of corrupt, self-important, greedy vampires has warped them from their original objectives.    Unfortunately they are making matters so much worse thanks to their tendency to blend dodgy advertising that contradicts their sexual health message in their flagship publication time after time, dubiously siphoning away funding from other smaller charities "    Full article from last December:  http://gaymafiawatch.wordpress.com/2008/12/01/blood-money/ Report