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Xtra Magazine

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Xtra Magazine
TypeDigital Publication
FormatOnline, former print
Owner(s)Pink Triangle Press
Editor-in-chiefJennifer McGuire
EditorGordon Bowness
Founded1984
Ceased publicationFebruary 19, 2015 (print)
HeadquartersToronto,Ontario
ISSN0829-3384
Websitextramagazine

Xtra Magazine(formerlyDailyXtraandXtra!) is anLGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published byPink Triangle PressinToronto,Ontario,Canada.[1]The publication is a continuation of the company's former print titlesXtra!,Xtra Ottawa,andXtra Vancouver,which were all discontinued in 2015.[2]

History

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Xtrawas founded in Toronto on February 19, 1984 (with a March cover date) by Pink Triangle Press, a not-for-profit organization. It was introduced as a four-page tabloid, as a way to broaden PTP's Toronto readership.[3]Pink Triangle Press had previously publishedThe Body Politic,which was discontinued in 1987.[4]From 1990 to 2000,Xtrapublished a quarterly literary supplement,The Church-Wellesley Review,for work by LGBTQ2 fiction and poetry writers.

The company also launched a telephone dating personals service, Cruiseline,[5]which later evolved into the contemporary web-basedSquirt.org.[6]

In 1993,Xtraexpanded, addingXtra! WestinVancouverandCapital Xtra!inOttawa.[7]The threeXtrapapers also produced an annualUltimate Pride Guideand an annual lesbian and gay business directory calledIndex.XtraandXtra! Westwere published biweekly, whileCapital Xtra!was initially published as a monthly,[8]with its publication frequency later expanding to every three weeks.

The Vancouver and Ottawa publications were renamedXtra VancouverandXtra Ottawain the late 2000s, while the Toronto edition retained the nameXtra.

In 2010, due to the changing business climate for print publications, PTP closed the Ottawa offices, with the Ottawa edition of the publication published out of the Toronto office thereafter.[9]

The final print issues ofXtra VancouverandXtra Ottawaappeared on February 12, 2015, while the Toronto edition's final print issue was published on the newspaper's 31st anniversary, February 19, 2015.[2]The publications continued online as a digital publication, initially under the nameDaily Xtrabefore reverting to theXtra Magazinename.

Contributors

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Past contributors to the publications have includedLily Alexandre,Sandra Alland,Richard Burnett,Brenda Cossman,James Dubro,Gerald Hannon,Matthew Hays,Greg Kearney,Todd Klinck,Greg Kramer,R. W. Gray,Raziel Reid,Irshad Manji,Alex Munter,Rachel Giese,Brian Francis,Peter Knegt,andJeffrey Round.

See also

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References

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  1. ^Matthew Hays,"How Xtra magazine came to the end of the rainbow: Venerable newspaper serving Canada's LGBTQ community was undone by decline in print advertising".The Globe and Mail,February 20, 2015.
  2. ^abDavid Rider,"Gay newspaper Xtra to stop printing, go digital only".Toronto Star,January 14, 2015.
  3. ^Jamie Bradburn,"Historicist: I Sing The Body Politic".Torontoist,February 14, 2015.
  4. ^Deborah Wilson, "Body Politic 14 years old Major gay journal to end publication".The Globe and Mail,December 22, 1986.
  5. ^Tamsen Tillson, "Pink papers in the black: When a failing publishing firm realized its readers were a growth market, its advertising base exploded. Since then it hasn't looked back".The Globe and Mail,July 11, 1994.
  6. ^Team, QX (2013-08-30)."THE AGE OF THE DIGI-DATE".QX Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-11-23.Retrieved2018-11-22.
  7. ^Kevin Griffin, "First gay newspaper chain launched in Canada".Vancouver Sun,September 14, 1993.
  8. ^Jay Stone, "Xtra news on gay lifestyles".Ottawa Citizen,October 9, 1993.
  9. ^Don Butler, "Gay voice of Ottawa shutting city office; Capital Xtra to cover community issues from Toronto base".Ottawa Citizen,January 29, 2010.
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