UPDATE: Unzipped blogger Zach Sire says he’s waiting to update the site until the publisher releases the death certificate.
The bell tolled for Unzipped on Friday morning when its owner, Regent Media’s Paul Colichman, laid off over half its staff and told those who remained that the magazine was finished.
The company is waiting to roll out the official announcement, but a couple newly-unemployed staffers leaked the sad news over the weekend to sources close to The Sword. Unzipped‘s blog is still up and running as of this morning, but it is likely that the two new issues currently waiting in the wings will never be printed.
I’m not sure whether th end of Unzipped‘s is the result of a faulty editorial strategy or whether it’s part of the mass death of gay print media in general: The Advocate (another Regent Media property) is now just an insert in Out; the awful Genre (remember Genre?) is dead, and Instinct (also awful) can’t be far off; Playgirl only goes to the printer now if Sarah Palin is involved; and of course there was last year’s folding of Mavety Media, publisher of iconic gay skin rags like Honchos and Mandate.
I’m guessing Unzipped’s has also folded or is in a major crisis, because it hasn’t been updated in two days and no mention as to why …
You know what the models from Inches and Black Inches need? Sympathy sex. I say we provide them with all the comfort our bodies are capable of.
Gay Adult is simply not compatible with the way the modern “Mainstream Gay Company” does business. Since what was once SpecPub was rumored to have been profitable, it seems a little odd that a so-called profitable business would just be given up for the sake of Paul Colichman and Here Media being able to tell advertisers that they don’t have any porn activities. At least one gay adult mag claims to be making money as a free publication.
QUESTION. Is the folding of Unzipped Mag the last of what was once Planetout’s SpecPub
I hope they can keep going in some guise. Maybe electronic? I hope their blog can keep going too because I enjoy reading it.
I like their blog — surely there must be a way to keep that profitable.
Let me defend Genre for a bit. They let me write three articles(DADT, marriage, and how the phrase LGBT is tired), and paid on time. Hard to complain about that.
I agree with Tre –
For years ( M.Lucas as well) has chosen to define their personal sexual taste in men as the standard for the gay community.The gay community is that of a fashion trend. When Latinos are in.. Every magazine, porn film, and advertisement is filled with Latinos. But the minute Lucas Titan etc thinks Arabs are in and Latinos are yesterdays news… It all flips.
Well if you are a dark skinned Latino, Asian, Black then you are never really in and the same gay community that asks you ” To March For Equality” excludes you and makes you feel as if you were born wrong.
The world is filled with more than A&F White guys covered in tattoos and hairy muscle Middle Eastern guys.
Have you ever seen a titan film with Black on Black action? Or a Lucas film with 2 Asian guys having sex. Unzipped is a victim of racial injustice and it serves them right!
FYI – The format is changing. Why do you think Amazon and Apple or trying to set the foundation to online magazine in a I tunes/Amazon format. The same happened to CD. However, With what I said earlier. When you target one group of people and that one small group of people you cater to stop buying.. Well its makes for a even faster and well needed ” Going Out Of Business Sale”!
Ah, the rantings of Tre Xavier…. Bitter, party of 1 your table is ready. Its sad to see rejection turned into a personal crusade against the entire industry.
It’s tough for any print media these days. Without a successful sister website and other innovations such as iPhone apps and live webcast media, it’s a wonder any print media could stay alive. Our thoughts are with all the employees of UnZipped as they move forward into other opportunities.
Thank god for Cybersocket
Um… Yeah…
UNZIPPED.NET is alive and well.
Much, much, more to come…