Just Out

Just Out was an LGBTQ publication based in Portland, Oregon, founded in 1983 by Jay Brown and Renee LaChance. It served as a local and regional news, culture, and community publication for LGBTQ readers, with its primary distribution concentrated in the Portland metropolitan area and additional distribution points elsewhere in Oregon at different times. The publication was generally available without charge through businesses, outdoor newspaper boxes, and other community locations, making physical accessibility a central part of its audience strategy. Digital copies in PDF form were also made available through its website. During its long run, Just Out combined LGBTQ news coverage with arts, culture, commentary, and community information. Its contributor roster included writers and creative figures who later became notable in other fields, including novelist Marc Acito, Pink Martini pianist Thomas Lauderdale, former Willamette Week art director and Cathartic Comics founder Rupert Kinnard, reporter and author Peter Zuckerman, and USA Today best-selling author Andy Mangels. Mangels contributed repeatedly over approximately 25 years, particularly during the early 2000s. The publication also participated in public debate beyond routine reporting. In January 2009, its editorial board called for Portland mayor Sam Adams to resign after Adams acknowledged concealing a sexual relationship with a state legislative intern in an effort to prevent damage to his mayoral campaign. The episode illustrates Just Out's role as an LGBTQ community institution willing to take explicit editorial positions on local political accountability and conduct. Just Out experienced serious financial pressure during the economic recession of the late 2000s. In March 2009, news editor Jaymee Cuti, arts-and-culture editor Jim Radosta, and art director Blake Martinez resigned, citing incomplete and delayed pay. Publisher Marty Davis attributed the publication's financial problems to the recession and a resulting decline in advertising revenue. The newspaper continued for another period but ultimately ceased publication as a semimonthly newspaper in December 2011. Davis announced on December 26, 2011, that the business had closed immediately, with the December 9 issue being the final newspaper edition. In February 2012, Glenn-Kipp Publishing, Inc. acquired the Just Out brand assets. Jonathan Kipp became publisher, and the publication was relaunched in a different format. It resumed on June 1, 2012, as a monthly LGBTQ magazine rather than the former semimonthly newspaper. The revived version was short-lived and stopped publishing in February 2013. Just Out is therefore best understood as a defunct regional LGBTQ media brand whose historical importance lies in its sustained service to Oregon's LGBTQ community, its free-distribution model, and its connection to Portland's queer cultural and political life.

Just Out was established in Portland, Oregon, in 1983 by Jay Brown and Renee LaChance. It emerged as an LGBTQ publication serving a community that needed dedicated local reporting, cultural coverage, commentary, and practical information. Its principal market was the Portland metropolitan area, although distribution also reached other Oregon communities at various points in its history. The publication operated for most of its original life as a free semimonthly newspaper. Rather than relying on paid circulation, it used a network of businesses, outdoor distribution boxes, and other public drop sites. The publication's website listed many of these locations, which were concentrated throughout the Portland area. Earlier in its history, distribution points also existed elsewhere in Oregon. By the time the newspaper was nearing the end of its original run, some communities were again receiving copies, including Klamath Falls, where two distribution points were reported. Just Out became associated with Portland's LGBTQ cultural and civic life. Its contributors included Marc Acito, Thomas Lauderdale, Rupert Kinnard, Peter Zuckerman, and Andy Mangels. Their involvement reflected the publication's blend of journalism, arts coverage, commentary, and community-oriented content. Mangels wrote for Just Out repeatedly over roughly a quarter-century, with much of that work appearing in the early 2000s. The brand sometimes took clear editorial positions on political issues. On January 21, 2009, its editorial board called on newly inaugurated Portland mayor Sam Adams to resign. The statement followed Adams's admission that he had concealed a sexual relationship with a state legislative intern in an attempt to avoid disruption to his mayoral campaign. The editorial intervention placed Just Out within a broader local debate about public trust, political accountability, and the responsibilities of elected officials. The organization later faced financial difficulties. In mid-March 2009, news editor Jaymee Cuti, arts-and-culture editor Jim Radosta, and art director Blake Martinez resigned. They said that they had not been paid in full since late January and had not been paid on time for six months. Publisher Marty Davis cited the economic recession and a corresponding decline in advertising revenue as the causes of the company's financial problems. No detailed financial figures are provided in the available reference material. On December 26, 2011, Davis announced that Just Out was out of business effective immediately. The December 9 issue was the last edition of the semimonthly newspaper. The shutdown did not permanently end the brand. On February 14, 2012, Glenn-Kipp Publishing, Inc. was reported to have acquired the Just Out brand assets. Jonathan Kipp became publisher; he had previously contributed to Just Out for two years. Under the new ownership, the publication returned on June 1, 2012, in a monthly LGBTQ magazine format. The relaunch was brief. Just Out ceased publication again in February 2013. During its run, the publication also made free digital PDF copies available through its website. The brand is now defunct, but its documented history represents several decades of regional LGBTQ media activity in Oregon, including free community distribution, local political advocacy, and a transition from newspaper to magazine before final closure.

• 2013

  Publication ends

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  The relaunched monthly magazine ceases publication in February.

• 2012

  Brand assets are acquired and publication returns

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  Glenn-Kipp Publishing acquires the brand assets, and Just Out resumes publication as a monthly magazine on June 1.

• 2011

  Original newspaper operation closes

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  The semimonthly newspaper ends publication, with the December 9 issue serving as its final edition.

• 2009

  Editorial board calls for Sam Adams's resignation

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  The editorial board publicly urges Portland mayor Sam Adams to resign following his admission that he concealed a relationship with a state legislative intern during his mayoral campaign.

• 2009

  Editorial and design staff resign amid pay problems

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  Three employees leave after reporting incomplete and delayed compensation during a period of recession-related advertising weakness.

• 1983

  Just Out is founded in Portland

  [1]Just Outen.wikipedia.org

  Jay Brown and Renee LaChance establish Just Out as an LGBTQ publication in Portland, Oregon.

A free, community-oriented LGBTQ news and culture publication serving Portland and the wider Oregon LGBTQ community.

• LGBTQ newspaper · 1983

  Just Out newspaper

  The original and longest-running format was a free semimonthly LGBTQ newspaper serving Portland and, at different times, communities elsewhere in Oregon. It combined local news, political commentary, arts and culture coverage, and community information. Copies were distributed through businesses, outdoor boxes, and other drop sites rather than through a conventional paid-circulation model.

• LGBTQ magazine · 2012

  Just Out magazine

  Following the 2012 acquisition of the brand assets by Glenn-Kipp Publishing, Just Out returned in monthly magazine form. The relaunch represented a format change from the earlier semimonthly newspaper, but it retained the brand's LGBTQ editorial identity. The magazine ceased publication in February 2013.

• Digital publication

  Just Out digital editions

  The publication's website made free digital copies available as PDF files. These editions extended access beyond physical distribution points and complemented the newspaper and magazine formats.

• 2009Editorial call for Sam Adams to resign

  Portland, Oregon

  Just Out's editorial board issued a public statement urging newly inaugurated Portland mayor Sam Adams to resign after his admission that he had concealed a sexual relationship with a state legislative intern to protect his mayoral campaign.

  Outcome. The action positioned the publication as an active participant in local political and accountability debates; the available reference does not specify the mayor's subsequent response or the campaign's wider effect.

  Source

• 2012

  Acquisition of the Just Out brand assetsM&A

  Background

  The original newspaper operation closed in December 2011 after financial difficulties associated by the publisher with recession conditions and reduced advertising revenue.

  Action taken

  Glenn-Kipp Publishing, Inc. acquired the Just Out brand assets, with Jonathan Kipp becoming publisher.

  Aftermath

  The brand returned as a monthly LGBTQ magazine on June 1, 2012, but publication ended again in February 2013.

  Source

• 2012

  Transition from semimonthly newspaper to monthly magazineGeneration change

  Background

  After the original semimonthly newspaper ceased publication, the acquired brand was prepared for a new publishing format.

  Action taken

  Just Out resumed as a monthly LGBTQ magazine rather than continuing as a semimonthly newspaper.

  Aftermath

  The magazine format lasted until February 2013, when the publication ceased again.

  Source

1. 1Just Outen.wikipedia.org