I mentioned in passing the recent loss of Update and The Weekly News. I ought to say more in particular about just how important a publication like TWN is--or was.
Few publications in the GLBT community last for 29 years. And fewer still hold themselves to the caliber of journalism that TWN did.
South Florida has been trying with greater determination in recent years not to be taken as a cultural backwater. With some four million people in the tri-county urban area, South Florida deserves more independent books and media of quality.
Books and Books is one of the finest independent bookstores in the country, and the Express Gay News does an admirable job of delivering news to the community. But it takes more than what they alone can do. Not so long ago, African-Americans could only read newspapers smuggled by railroad porters from the North. With the anniversary of the Shoah approaching, we can see where lack of access to information and media leads a society.
Few publications in the GLBT community last for 29 years. And fewer still hold themselves to the caliber of journalism that TWN did.
South Florida has been trying with greater determination in recent years not to be taken as a cultural backwater. With some four million people in the tri-county urban area, South Florida deserves more independent books and media of quality.
Books and Books is one of the finest independent bookstores in the country, and the Express Gay News does an admirable job of delivering news to the community. But it takes more than what they alone can do. Not so long ago, African-Americans could only read newspapers smuggled by railroad porters from the North. With the anniversary of the Shoah approaching, we can see where lack of access to information and media leads a society.
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