The drinks were large and free, but for a crowd that included some of the liveliest gay writers in the city, the impromptu reunion on Wednesday of fab magazine staff and contributors was a relatively sombre affair. It was official: Fab, a glossy biweekly magazine covering the lighter sides of gay life in the city, had been bought by its only real competition, the solid and sometimes stolid Xtra. The deal closes Monday.
The differences between the two magazines is as obvious as their two current covers. Xtra's bears the headline, "Standing Tall: Black queers making a difference" under a picture of three gay black community activists; Fab's is "Pump it up," printed just above the crotch of a cut, wet (and white) young man in his underwear.
Opinion on Church Street is mixed, with some thinking the male-focused Fab could use a nudge toward more serious journalism and gender balance and others worried the magazine will become "Xtra lite."
Having spent eight years at Xtra, four of them as managing editor, editor-in-chief Paul Gallant - who will be replaced by 23-year-old former columnist Matt Thomas - expressed doubts about Fab's new identity in a farewell editorial:
"Can a '70s-rooted, earnest and dutiful bureaucracy that is supposed to be inclusive of women produce a fun-filled, cheeky publication where the tanline on your cover is more important than politics?"
Though columnist Paul Bellini takes at face value Pink Triangle Press's assurances that nothing will change except the ownership, he is concerned about the possible side effects if the city's two gay voices become one. "I'm just doing it for the fun," he says of writing his comedy-heavy, politics-light column about personalities, pop culture and porn, for six years. "The day it's not fun, I'll go."
Consolidation among the major media has long been a concern, but the issue is just as troubling to some when the media in question are smaller and alternative. Michael Hollett, editor-in-chief of Now Magazine, says, "I'm always sad to see a small publisher disappear." Though he says he has great respect for Pink Triangle Press, "there is a fear if they become the only voice of gay print in Canada, no matter how good a job they do."
"In terms of competition, it's probably not a good thing for Toronto," says Steve Anderson, national co-ordinator of the Campaign for Democratic Media, an industry watchdog. He points out that though alternative press mergers are not yet an issue in Canada, in the United States, many of the major publications - including The Village Voice and L.A. Weekly - are now owned by a single company. "I think it would be a real shame if we go down that path," he says.
After discussions broke down with Torstar Corp., who expressed interest in buying Fab about two years ago, Fab's owners, Keir MacRae and Michael Schwarz, called Pink Triangle Press this past summer with an offer to sell. It wasn't the first time. According to Ken Popert, who heads Pink Triangle Press, they received a call a decade ago. Then "we thought that it wasn't our kind of publication, not our kind of journalism," says Mr. Popert, "but in the last 10 years, we've changed our ideas about the breadth of ways there are of speaking to people." He says there are no plans to alter Fab's editorial direction.
Not everyone sees the move as doom and gloom. One woman, who declined to give her name, said, "I think it's good. Hopefully, there'll be more things pertaining to women in Fab."
Whatever direction Mr. Popert takes, he is still facing the 21st-century publication's direst enemy. As one reader familiar with both publications says, "I don't really read either of them. I skim them for community information," says Scott MacDonald, 35, "but I get most of my real information online, at sites like towleroad.com. That's actually where I heard about the sale in the first place."