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Everyone has a magazine they read growing up. The one in which they remember feeling heard, seen and represented. For 56 years, The Advocate has served as that publication for LGBTQ+ readers looking for news, politics, the environment, pop culture and sports.
And like every legacy publication, The Advocate is expanding its platform, meeting its audience where they are. The Advocate Channel, in beta now with an official launch later this month, will stream 24/7 on a dedicated digital channel as well as on YouTube.
The Advocate’s editor in chief, Desiree Guerrero, said the channel will continue to deliver on The Advocate’s mission, while also offering something new.
“It’s not just LGBTQ+-exclusive content, which it was kind of for a while,” Guerrero told Adweek. “Statistics are showing younger audiences, more than ever, care about issues outside of their own demographic.”
Back where it all began
The Advocate was born during the civil rights era after a police raid on The Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles in January 1967. In response, the L.A.-based activist group Personal Rights in Defense and Education (PRIDE) launched a newsletter called The Advocate.
Richard Mitch, Bill Rau, Aristide Laurent and Sam Winston transformed the newsletter into a newspaper and called it The Los Angeles Advocate. The first issue debuted in September 1967, circulating around local gay bars for 25 cents. As time went on, the publication went through various owners and today is owned and operated by LGBTQ+ media company equalpride.
“The personalized connection that The Advocate has with the reader has kept it around, and will keep it going for decades,” said Mark Berryhill, CEO of equalpride.
Guerrero said The Advocate Channel will allow the publication “to go back to the original spirit of the magazine.”
The fight for attention
The Advocate’s editorial team is well aware of the struggle to capture consumers’ attention. Readers may only have 5 or 10 minutes to catch up on the news, so publishers must offer something unique. “We’re not competing with other outlets. We’re competing with how much time do you really have to go online to read,” said Berryhill.
The team also knows its readers don’t just want to hear LGBTQ+ news but information on other topics like climate change and health care. “We’ve always been doing intersectional reporting journalism, and I think [The Advocate Channel] adds to it,” said Alex Cooper, digital editor of The Advocate.
“In many ways,” he added, “expanding different topics gives a better picture of what a core person these days goes through and actually experiences.”
Younger viewers and readers get their news from platforms like Instagram, YouTube Shorts and TikTok, where they are able to get bite-sized stories. Berryhill said that’s how The Advocate Channel will operate, with blocks of content running between 4 and 10 minutes.
“We can be part of their morning or their commute when they’re going home, and give them the day’s news with our perspective,” he said, adding, “That’s going to be very important for our future as a company.”
An advocate, now more than ever
It is a critical time for The Advocate. The ACLU, which keeps track of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, is watching more than 450 bills make their way through state legislatures.
Guerrero said The Advocate Channel will balance this coverage with uplifting stories from the community.
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“It’s just an opportunity for us to balance out some of the bad news, like the trans woman who won the Jeopardy! tournament,” said Guerrero.
As The Advocate Channel rolls out, it plans to add more content so its readers and viewers can continue to feel seen and heard.
“As we move forward, we are just going to keep expanding our focus and and make sure that all those very important stories are part of our agenda,” said Neal Broverman, editorial director of equalpride.
The Advocate Channel launches June 19 on advocatechannel.com, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV, Apple iOS and Google Play.
