Out Front Colorado, founded in 1976, was a small biweekly magazine covering the arts, entertainment, culture and politics shaping Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community. It had a loyal print following but no website or social media, and it needed to stay relevant and profitable as readers moved online.
I joined in 2011 as managing editor and editor of the print edition, the first woman to hold the editor role in the magazine’s history. When new owners took over, I was promoted to Editor-in-Chief, leading a small newsroom and 30 to 40 freelancers and owning the editorial budget for every issue. For each biweekly issue, I set the lineup of stories, cover stories and photo shoots, working closely with the art director, the publisher and our advertisers.
With two colleagues, I built the magazine’s first website and launched its social channels, and I led its first digital editions. I also led a rebrand with the team and widened our reporting beyond arts and entertainment to local elections, civil rights, health and community causes. Along the way, I interviewed policymakers, candidates, entertainers, artists and community leaders, including Grace Potter, Andrea Gibson, Jewel, Thelma Houston and Alec Mapa.
Readership grew, and the print run more than tripled during my tenure. The magazine became a bigger part of the community, with reporting that meant a lot to its readers. As one wrote in a letter to the editor: “The Nov. 16 edition was the best paper I’ve read in months.”
