On July 6 2009, Australia’s self-proclaimed Grand Old Dame of gay and lesbian publishing, Sydney Star Observer (SSO), celebrated its 30th birthday, making it the longest running gay and lesbian newspaper in the southern hemisphere.
The anniversary, dubbed The Pearl Jubilee, is a record breaking milestone which sees SSO stand alone as Australia’s longest running weekly news publication aimed specifically at the GLBTIQ community, and has been the voice of Australia’s gay rights movement since its inception.
‘SSO sets the benchmark by which all other gay and lesbian newspapers in this country are judged,’ SSO editor and publisher, Scott Abrahams said. ‘We take our role as a communicator very seriously – placing great emphasis on quality journalism and diversified advertising.
‘To last 30 years, and to have staved off several attempts by competitors to muscle in on the market is significant.’
SSO was first published in 1979 as The Star by American immigrant Michael Glynn, who upon arriving in Sydney saw the opportunity to foster a publication that would act as the central voice for Sydney’s growing gay community.
The first edition was printed on the promise of payment, with Glynn using public transport to distribute the free newspaper across inner Sydney on the night of July 6, 1979.
A week later all payments were made and Glynn set to work on the next edition, with the paper being released every week thereafter with not one issue missed in all its 30 years.
SSO has reported on virtually every issue the gay and lesbian community has faced in the past three decades, including the rise and fall of Mardi Gras, Dawn O’Donnell’s death, the Gay Games, the formation of ACON and BGF, plus the age of consent battle.
Most significantly, however, it reported on the first Australian AIDS account. ‘Our reporting of Australia’s first known AIDS case was a turning point for the publication and the community,’ Abrahams said.
‘But then the everyday reporting we do on community groups, instances of discrimination and relaying safe sex messages to our readers stand just as proudly alongside that.’
At its core, SSO has a unique ownership structure, one which sees it governed by a board of community members, with all revenue generated directed straight back into the community that owns it.
SSO’s success is such that in October last year they established a sister publication, Southern Star, in Melbourne and look all set to accomplish another milestone on December 9, 2009, when they release their 1000th edition.
‘We will continue to look at other markets where the gay and lesbian community is given less than satisfactory news coverage,’ Abrahams said of SSO’s publishing body, Gay and Lesbian Community Limited Publishing Limited, who were responsible for the inception of Southern Star.
‘But,’ Abrahams concluded, ‘the immediate future is all about stopping and celebrating this significant achievement. To be the oldest gay and lesbian newspaper not only in Australia, but in the southern hemisphere, is worth a period of celebration and reflection.’
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