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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

December, 1991

Editorial

Good news... and bad news

The old joke begins, "I've got good news and bad news..."

Well, I've got good news and bad news about the Chronicle and its future, and this is no joke.

I don't usually write editorials in the first person but since this one is so important I decided to write to you, the loyal readers of the Chronicle and tell you exactly what is going on.

The good news first. Many, many changes are occurring around here. I would like to say the rest of the staff and I are proud to announce that Kim Taylor is our new managing editor. She will be in charge of the day to day running of the paper and making sure it gets out. Kim was formally with the Plain Dealer and has been an newspaper editor for over 12 years. She brings with her much needed professionalism and a vision for the future.

Kim will be coordinating stories and volunteers, so if you have some item you want in the paper, or you want to help, call Kim. This also means that I am no longer editor but I will stay on as a reporter and publisher. Good luck, Kim, I'm really glad you are here!

The second bit of good news has to do with distribution. I don't know if you noticed or not, but we were in about 100 new places last month. Newspaper Services, a division of George Klein will now be doing our delivery in the suburbs and non-bar downtown locations. If you saw us in Rocky River then you may have noticed you had to pay for the paper. When we have an outside delivery service we have to charge for the paper.

Out of the 100 places only three didn't want us, so we are off and running. I find it very exciting to be able to be almost everywhere there are gay and lesbian people. Now those who live beyond Lakewood and Cleveland Heights can also enjoy the Chronicle.

The third bit of good news is our plans to publishing twice a month. That's right! Twice the fun, twice the information and a more timely events calendar. You deserve this kind of service and we need it to survive. Look for details in the January issue.

Talking about survival, let's do the bad

news now.

I believe the Chronicle is very important to this community. Think back, five years ago when there was no Chronicle. There was no place for all of us to communicate. There was no place for us to be heard outside of our own community. Think about then, think about now, and think about what life would be like without the Chronicle, because it is very possible we won't be publishing much longer.

Are these strong words? Yes, but the reality is that we need to increase our revenues, which are way down. We need to increase even beyond our previous levels so we can support a full-time staff. Not long ago we had

eight pages of phone-sex ads. Many of you hated them but they paid their bills--and ours. Now we have less then three. This income drop is significant and crippling to our publication that runs on a very narrow margin. We need to recover this ad revenue and go beyond. There is no simpler way to say it.

The Chronicle has always run a deficit and we have gotten by the best we could. Many of us were volunteers for a long time and now are being paid very small amount of money for the work we do. For the paper to survive we need to do two things. One is to publish twice a month, as I mentioned above, and the other is to have a full-time staff with real salaries. All the other lesbian and gay papers in the larger cities operate this way, and there is no reason why Cleveland should be any different. We have a large enough community to support a full time paper.

I'm not asking you to just send money, although you can if you wish. The Chronicle is a good product and we need to sell this product better than we have. Thus, publishing twice a month will increase our ad revenues while our fixed cost remain nearly the same. I am asking you to buy more of this product. I'm asking you to subscribe. I'm asking you to advertise on a regular basis. I'm asking you to use our editorial call-in line for your opinions. I'm asking you to help spread the word that the Chronicle is the place to be seen in, or we won't be seen for much longer. Maybe your group could afford an ad at $35 dollars a month or more. If every group and bar we have in our Resource Directory took a monthly ad our revenue problems would vanish. I'm not asking for a handout, but I am asking for help because my staff and I can't do it all ourselves anymore.

First, let me reassure you that I am not getting rich off of the Chronicle. It is a business and I own it, but it has never made a profit and sometimes it doesn't even pay me a salary. Many times in the past when I've asked people for money to help with the paper, the response is "why should I help you make money?" The answer is: because the Chronicle is important to our community and thus the community should help ensure its existence.

When the City of Cleveland needs a building so the city will benefit, they help the builders with tax abatements and low cost loans. I need your help to provide this community with something it needs: a newspaper.

This isn't a personal thing. It isn't about whether or not you like me or my editorials, about whether or not you think I'm a fat dyke with a attitude problem. It is about whether or not you want a newspaper to read, get in-

Guest Opinion

formation from and complain about.

For the past four years or so I've worked on this paper. In all that time I have also worked another full-time job. Most of the staff is in the same position. The only person who is works at the Chronicle full time, and nowhere else, gets paid so little he should have another job. I'm not asking for pity, I just want you to understand where we are coming from. I personally love this paper and would be crushed to close it, but close it I'll have to, without your help. My staff and I are no longer capable of working 12-hour days only to be told there isn't enough money for paychecks or that we have to wait just a few more days.

I know that someone of you have complaints about how we do our jobs here. It is true that we didn't have a picture of the NOCI picnic this year. We did have a story. Because we can't pay photographers, we need to rely on volunteers, and our volunteer didn't show up at the picnic that day. Sometimes we misspell words in ads and miss events where reporters should have been. I'm not saying we would be perfect with a fulltime staff but a lot of these problems would disappear.

I really wanted you to know what is going on because after all, it is your paper even if I own it. The staff and I, as well as other members of our community, are working hard to make sure the Chronicle sees its fifth birthday, but we cannot do it without your help.

We need your support, but you don't need to like us. We need you to advertise and support our advertisers, but you don't need to agree with us. We need you to value us and use us so we may continue to exist, but you don't need to blindly throw money at us. Contribute if you want. Volunteer if you can. Encourage your groups and businesses to advertise.

Take a moment to really visualize what the community and even your own life would be without the Chronicle. Then take another minute and decide what you could do to help. Call us with one referral from a business, buy a subscription for a friend, talk to the group you belong to and ask them to advertise on a regular basis. Take a couple a minutes to think and then sit back and enjoy reading your Chronicle because I'm not giving up. I promise you will have a Chronicle to read as long as we can do it. I love this community too much to desert it. How about you?

Martha Pontoni Publisher

If you would like to comment on this editorial please call 1-900-446-KWIR. The call will cost you $.99 per minute, but you won't have to use a stamp.

Working to end the military's ban on gays

by Mike Radice

The Pentagon won a decisive military victory in the Persian Gulf, but is losing miserably at home to the incredible power of the truth. The truth is that lesbians and gays serving in the U.S. military are indispensable to their country's security, and the only security or morale risks they impose are to the continued existence of the military's policy of excommunicating them dishonorably, upon the disclosure of their "affectional orientation" to military officials.

The war is on with the U.S. military: and we are winning. We are doing it without a multibillion dollar budget; without the use of oppressive weaponry; and without the support of the president of the United States. We are

doing it with the truth, and the message is being sent loudly by federal courts, queer military personnel, national gay and lesbian civil rights organizations, grass-roots efforts and by the pens of thousands of individual gays and lesbians who have written their senators and representatives stating that this policy is wrong. All of these efforts are bearing fruit, and the evidence has been in the following series of victories:

The Supreme Court ordered the Army to reinstate openly gay Sgt. Perry Watkins. The Army spontaneously ordered Michael Dull to report back for duty after being dismissed for being gay.

Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney made a public statement calling the military's

་་

ban "A bit of an old chestnut."

A federal court ordered the Army to prove that there is a rational basis for the ban.

The American Psychological Association voted to work for a change in the policy. Pentagon officials conducted a two-year study that concluded that gays and lesbians do not pose a security risk solely because of their sexual orientation.

Queer military personnel reported to the Advocate, in an investigative article, that various branches of the military are beginning to "not enforce" the discriminatory policy.

Defense Department Spokesperson Pete

continued on page 6

gay people's

HRONICLE

Vol. 7, Issue 6

Founded by Charles Callender

1928-1986

Published by KWIR Publications

Publisher:

Martha J. Pontoni Managing Editor: Kimberly Taylor Associate Editor:

Brian De Witt Copy Editors:

Nora Vetarius, Marty Gibbons Reporters and Writers:

Martha J. Pontoni, Dora Forbes, Marne Harris Faith Klasek, Kevin Beaney, Lizzie Bordon Douglas Braun, Bob Downing, Stephanie Dlugon, W. A. Brooks, Nora Vetarius, Madison Square Photographers

Pat Young, Tom Ritter Editorial Cartoonist: E.J. Farbarik Typesetting/Graphics: Kathi Officer Artist:

Lil Maninaboot Distribution Chief: Robert Downing Office Manager: Ray P. Triggs Sales Manager: Betsy Marshall Editorial Board:

Martha J. Pontoni, Robert Downing,

Brian De Witt, Kimberly Taylor, Betsy Marshall

The Gay People's Chronicle is dedicated to providing a space in Cleveland's lesbian-gay community for all women and men to communicate and be involved with each other. This means that every Chronicle, to the best of our ability, will be equally dedicated to both men's and women's issues, as well as issues that affect all of us. Striving for this balance will not only provide the community with a forum to air grievances and express joys, but will also help all of us achieve this balance in our lives.

The Gay People's Chronicle is copyrighted under federal law. Any reproduction of its contents is prohibited unless either written or verbal permission is obtained.

The Chronicle is distributed free of charge in any establishment that permits its distribution

Any material submitted for publication will be subject to editing. The Chronicle cannot guarantee return of any such materials unless accompanied by a starred, self-addressed envelope.

Publication of the name, picture or other representation of an individual, organization, or place of business in the Gay People's Chronicle is not indicative of his, her, or their sexual orientation or character.

The Gay People's Chronicle is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. We reserve the right to reject advertising which is unsuitable for our publication.

Next Chronicle comes out Friday, December 27

The Gay People's Chronicle is published on the first Friday of the month; or the last Friday of some months with five Fridays. Items must be received by deadlines; mail takes several days. Call 621-5280 to inquire about hand delivery.

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Call Betsy Marshall at 216-621-5280 for rate sheets and information. Or, write theChronicle at P.O. Box 5426, Cleveland, OH 44101. Fax -621-5282.

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Typed copy (second Monday of month) Copy on disk (third Monday)

Dec. 9

Dec. 16

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Dec. 16

Camera-ready ads (fourth Monday) Calendar events (fourth Monday) Classifieds, Personals Obituaries (fourth Monday)

Dec. 23

Dec. 15

Dec. 23

Subscriptions:

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Clarification

In November's editorial we referred to Hank Berger having a connection to U4ia. Berger is no longer associated with U4ia in any way.

Oops

Also in November's editorial, we neglected to thank HUGS East, who collected over $200 to help with the expenses resulting from our burglary last summer. A hearty thank you!