Pink Triangle Press

Pink Triangle Press
Industry Newspaper
Founded October 1971
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario
Key people
 Ken Popert, president and executive director
David Walberg, publisher
Andrew Chang, chief operating officer
Products Newspapers, Website, Television
Subsidiaries Xtra!, Squirt.org
Website pinktrianglepress.com

Pink Triangle Press is a Canadian organization which specializes in LGBT media including publishing, online interactive media, and television. PTP's main asset is the LGBT news website Daily Xtra, a continuation of the company's former print titles. The company's headquarters are located in Toronto near the Church-Wellesley Village, although it also has offices in Ottawa and Vancouver.

History

Pink Triangle Press' roots trace back to 1971 (although not in name) in Toronto, when a group of volunteers began to produce The Body Politic, a paper containing news and opinions on gay liberation.[1] By 1976 TBP was being published monthly, and in the early 1980s it claimed a circulation of over 9,000 nationally, and boasted contributions from writers all over the world.

In 1978, Pink Triangle Press was incorporated, its name was chosen as a symbol of history and commitment, as it comes from the symbols placed on suspected homosexual men in Nazi concentration camps. Later that year, PTP was charged with "publishing immoral, indecent and scurrilous material" because of an issue of The Body Politic which included Gerald Hannon's article "Men Loving Boys Loving Men".[1] The Press was brought up on similar charges again in May 1982, this time for "Lust With a Very Proper Stranger", an article on fisting.[1] PTP however won both cases.[1]

In an attempt to broaden PTP's Toronto readership, the collective launched Xtra! in March 1984.[1] Xtra! was meant to be more upbeat and accessible than TBP. By 1985 Xtra! had taken over its parent publication's role of providing local entertainment and community event listings.

Xtra!'s circulation had soon overtaken TBP which was in financial trouble, so in an effort to save PTP and keep Xtra! going, TBP was discontinued in February 1987.[1]

Xtra! West in Vancouver, now called Xtra Vancouver, and Capital Xtra! in Ottawa, now called Xtra Ottawa, were both launched in 1993.

In January 2015, the company announced that it was discontinuing publication of its print titles, with the final edition of Xtra! published on February 19.[2] Xtra! will continue as a digital media publication via the Daily Xtra website.[2]

Other investments

Pink Triangle Press launched www.Squirt.org in 1998, a gay men's personals, dating and cruising website, which now has more than 600,000 active members. The site's advertisements have been a site of controversy across North America. The site's "Non-Stop Cruising" campaign sparked backlash in Dallas after complaints were received over the billboard, which featured three ethnically diverse men embracing.[3] In September 2015, the Toronto Transit Commission decided to remove ads for the website from their subway trains after riders complained that the website promoted illegal sexual activity.[4] In defense of the company, the Digital Business Director stated that the sites postings for public sex were completely user-generated.[5]

In July 2004, Pink Triangle Press became a minority partner in PrideVision TV when the channel was sold by Headline Media Group to William Craig. PrideVision was subsequently rebranded OutTV and a new gay male adult subscription channel, HARDtv, was launched at the same time. PTP owns approximately 25% of OutTV and 55% of HARDtv while Les Tomlin owns the remaining 45%. PTP sold its interest in OutTV to majority partner Shavick Entertainment in December 2012.

Previous to PrideVision being sold, Pink Triangle Press became partners with television producer Les Tomlin, forming Bumper 2 Bumper Media Inc. which produces Bump!, the world's first gay travel show, initially airing on PrideVision and now in production on a fifth season. Bump airs on OutTV in Canada and the Netherlands, Viacom's LOGO network in the US, QUODtv in the UK and on the Mango mobile network in Austria. Bump also recently launched a series of mobile travel guide apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Blackberry.

As well, Pink Triangle Press was a partner in Evanov Radio Group's license application for 103.9 PROUD FM, a new radio station to serve Toronto's LGBT community. PTP's agreement with Evanov was discontinued in late 2005 after PTP expressed reservations about the depth of Evanov's commitment to serving LGBT audiences.[6]

Pink Triangle Press also operated a gay telephone personals service under the Cruiseline banner in all three cities where the Xtra! papers publish, as well as five other major Canadian centres across the country. UPDATE: March 2011, Pink Triangle Press sells Cruiseline to First Media Group.

In June 2006 Pink Triangle Press acquired Boston-based publication The Guide, an international gay travel magazine in existence for more than 25 years. PTP ceased printing The Guide in April 2010, and move to an online format only at Guidemag.com.

In February 2008 Pink Triangle Press acquired Toronto-based publication fab, a gay scene magazine which had previously been seen as Xtra!'s competition. On March 12, 2013, Pink Triangle Press announced that fab would be discontinued, with its final issue slated for publication on April 24.[7]

Subsidiaries

Defunct

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Historicist: I Sing The Body Politic". Torontoist, February 14, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Gay newspaper Xtra to stop printing, go digital only". Toronto Star, January 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Billboard Advertising Gay Hookup Site Squirt.org Sparks Controversy In Dallas: VIDEO - Towleroad". Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  4. ↑ "Ads for gay dating service Squirt.org removed from the TTC | Metro News". Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  5. ↑ "TTC orders gay dating site's ads removed". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  6. ↑ "Radio partners split", Xtra!, January 5, 2006.
  7. ↑ "RIP Fab Magazine (1994-2013)". NOW, March 12, 2013.

External links

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