Nation’s largest publisher of gay & lesbian newspapers shutters titles suddenly

Window Media LLC, the publisher behind gay newspapers Washington Blade, Houston Voice, Southern Voice and South Florida Blade has shuttered the titles suddenly due to financial problems, the Associated press is reporting.

In an interview with the AP, editor of Southern Voice Laura Douglas-Brown states that upon arriving at the offices of the paper this morning, she found the locks changed and a note on the door that Window Media had “closed down.” Douglas-Brown expressed shock, saying that employees knew the titles were changing hands but that complete closure was unexpected.

Steven Myers, co-president of Window Media in Washington, D.C, declined comment to the AP about the closure for now, but said that he would offer information on the closures later in the week. The closure is thought to have stemmed not only from across-the-board declines in print media sales and the economic downturn, but also from increased coverage in mainstream media of gay and lesbian issues.

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