LivingOUT

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Logo from the first issue of LivingOUT Newspaper which appeared in the Twin Cites in June, 2004.

LivingOUT was a biweekly newspaper published by LivingOUT Media Group in Minnesota from June, 2004 through June, 2005. The publication reported on local and national news events with an intended market of LGBT Families.

The first issue (Volume 01, No. 1) was published on June 2nd, 2004, and distributed throughout the Twin Cites of Minneapolis and St. Paul including their surrounding suburbs. The first headline was "Repercussions of Same-Sex Marriage In Massachusetts," written by David J. Rust. The publisher, Donna M. Gimbut, was credited with the title "editor," with Charles Hughes as Content Manager. Staff writers were David J. Rust and Rebecca Boever. Contributing Writers were Emilie Carter, Charles Hughes, Liz Schulze, Charles Taylor, and Christopher Title.

The paper initially had two separate sections: its main news portion and its second portion, "OUT in the Metro," covering travel, entertainment, and local color. On April 6th, 2005 (issue #22), "OUT in the Metro" was combined with the rest of the paper, maintaining the same number of pages, but requiring only a single printing.

Unlike many LGBT publications, the paper made it a policy not to publish lurid photographs or sexually explicit advertisements. The observation was that many other magazines and news publications serving the gay and lesbian communities already included such explicit material, and LivingOUT wanted to set themselves apart while addressing the growing community of same-gender couples with children as well as families with GLBT members.

Gimbut was also the owner of 3 Dollar Bill, which published The Source GLBT Community Directory, a gay and lesbian yellow pages. 3 Dollar Bill was a separate company although some employees worked for both it and LivingOUT Media Group.

In 2004, the newspaper covered major news events such as Marriage Equality, legislative activism by groups such as OutFront Minnesota and Rainbow Families, the 2004 Presidential Election, and a variety of gay rights issues.

[edit] The end

By late spring, 2005, many employees had quit over lack of payment and the final issue was released only at the Twin Cities GLBT Pride Festival. This last publication of LivingOUT, delayed from its cover date of June 15, 2005, was also the first anniversary issue.

Additional to its non-payment of employees there were other legal concerns. Most prominent were accusations that LivingOUT inflated its circulation numbers to advertisers and provided poor customer support, further leading to few repeat customers.

For a brief period in late September, 2005 through October, 2005, the Justice Department was actively seeking the whereabouts of the company's owner and publisher.

On October 13th, 2005, owner Donna M. Gimbut declared personal bankruptcy although LivingOUT and all other associated businesses were reportedly not in bankruptcy.