WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Window Media LLC, the nation’s largest gay publishing group announced today that the Washington Blade has landed an exclusive interview with Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama—offering the LGBT community an insider’s look at the senator’s positions on important issues, such as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” DOMA, ENDA, hate crimes legislation and comprehensive sex education in schools. The interview will appear in Friday’s print edition and is already posted online at www.washblade.com, along with an exclusive interview with Obama’s openly gay college mentor.
“It’s gratifying that a major party’s presidential candidate is engaging with the LGBT media as never before. We look forward to further opportunities to discuss the issues with both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain,” said Kevin Naff, Editor of the Washington Blade.
“I appreciated the opportunity to reach out to Senator Barack Obama on the issues that matter most to our LGBT audience,” said William Kapfer, Co-President of Window Media. “I enjoyed working with our award-winning Washington Blade editorial team to craft focused questions for the interview. Senator Obama’s responses were substantive, and hopefully made for a rich, informative editorial experience for our community.”
The exclusive Q&A with Senator Obama, conducted in writing via email, comes on the heels of a series of important journalism awards for the Washington Blade. In June, the paper took three awards from the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Editor Kevin Naff took first place for the second consecutive year in the editorial-columns-commentary category. Joey DiGuglielmo, the features editor, won first place in the arts-weekly category. And Lou Chibbaro Jr., the Blade’s senior news reporter, won second place in the spot news-weekly category.
In August, Blade news editor Joshua Lynsen won first place in the National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in the category of Best Feature Story. And more recently, the Blade was honored by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association with two more awards. Chibbaro took second place in the journalist of the year category and news reporter Chris Johnson took third place for news writing.
About the Washington Blade:
Founded in 1969, Washington Blade is the longest continuously published lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender newspaper in the United States. The Blade has cemented its place as a cornerstone in the ever-evolving LGBT movement by disseminating information critical to the community. The passion of our entire staff and our commitment to the highest journalistic standards has earned the Blade numerous awards and the honor of being the newspaper of record for the LGBT community of Washington, DC and the nation.
About Window Media:
Window Media, through its holdings and in partnerships with HX Media, operates top quality gay and lesbian newspapers, websites and lifestyle magazines with a combined weekly readership of 750,000. Window Media and HX publications include Washington Blade, Southern Voice, David Atlanta, New York Blade, South Florida Blade, 411 Magazine, HX, New England Blade and the nationally circulated GENRE Magazine.
