The Seattle Gay News is a weekly newspaper aimed at the Seattle and Puget Sound area LGBT community in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2023, the SGN is distributed to every library in the King County Library System, Seattle Public Library System, and Pierce County Library System, as well as roughly 115 other locations in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Spokane and Ocean Shores.
 | |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | |
| Publisher |
|
| Editor | |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington, US |
| Website | sgn |
| Free online archives | issuu |
History
editThe newspaper was founded in 1974 by Jim Tully and Jim Arnold.[5] Editor George Bakan, an LGBTQ+ activist in Seattle, acted as head of the SGN from 1984 until his death from a sudden heart attack in 2020.[2] His daughter Angela Cragin then took over his role at the paper.[6]
In 2021, staff began restructuring the paper to improve its diversity and inclusivity.[7] In the same year, SGN launched a podcast as part of the restructuring effort.[8]
In 2023, Cragin sold the publication to Stratus Group LLC, owned by Mike Schultz.[9] A year later he sold SGN to Prism Pride Press, owned by Renee Raketty.[10]
Archive
editSGN files are preserved in the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. The SGN is archived at Yale University (Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library), University of Washington (Suzzallo Library) in Seattle, the Seattle Public Library (Central Library) and the Stonewall National Museum, Archive and Library in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Microfiche copies of the archives can be found at UW and the Seattle Public Library.
The Washington State Library in partnership with the Suzzallo Library and the SGN digitized the SGN's archive from 1974 through 2020 (although only in black & white). Additionally, every issue of the SGN was scanned in full color and uploaded to Issuu.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Seattle Gay News (Seattle, Wash.) 1976-Current". Library of Congress.
- ^ a b c Doughton, Sandi (13 June 2020). "'Grumpy Santa' and 'Governor of Capitol Hill': George Bakan, longtime editor of the Seattle Gay News, dies". The Seattle Times.
- ^ "A.V. Eichenbaum". muckrack.com.
- ^ Seattle Gay News. "Contact information". Seattle Gay News. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ Secretary of State of Washington (1 January 2023). "41 Years of SGN now online at Washington Digital Newspapers; historic content available free to the public". www.sos.wa.gov. Secretary of State of Washington.
- ^ Chamberlain Gomez, Caroline; Murphy, Patricia (2024-06-06). "At 50, Seattle Gay News starts a new chapter". KUOW. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ Yamakazi Stewart, Jade (26 June 2021). "Seattle Gay News charts a path into the future after death of longtime editor George Bakan". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Van Streefkerk, Mark (June 22, 2021). "Seattle Gay News archives its past and looks to the future". Capital Hill Seattle Blog. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ "Under new owner, Seattle Gay News now part of statewide queer media group". Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. October 12, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
- ^ Anjum, Dua (2024-06-19). "Seattle Gay News' new owner Renee Raketty on community, influences". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
- ^ "Exhibit Celebrating 50 Years of Seattle Gay News Opens at the Central Library on June 24". The Seattle Public Library. June 18, 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-17.