QW (magazine)

Queer World (QW) magazine was a gay and lesbian weekly news magazine published in New York City from 1991 to 1992.[1] During its 18-month existence, QW covered gay and lesbian news, politics, the arts, and AIDS.[2]

Founding

After Outweek's closure in 1991, former advertising executive Troy Masters launched the magazine in October 1991 with the name New York Queer (NYQ), but in early 1992 it changed its name to QW. Masters was the publisher and owner of the magazine.[2][3] QW was the sole publication of Chafin Communications Inc and was financed by its president and chief executive, William F. Chafin.[2]It printed lifestyle content, general feature stories about fashion, celebrities, travel, and current events on high-grade glossy paper.[4]

Closing

In the early 1990s, a number of new gay national magazines, including Out, Genre, and 10 Percent, appeared, all competing among themselves for national advertising dollars; most had short lives.[4]

QW published for 18 months until closing in November 1992 due to the death of its principle funder, Bill Chafin, who died of AIDS in October of that year.[1][5][6] Masters said Chafin had invested nearly USD 1 million in the magazine before his death. The No. 55 issue, released on November 29 of that year was the last issue published.[2][7]

Impact

Despite its brief existence, QW helped bring gay and AIDS issues into the mainstream.

In 1994, Maer Roshan, the former editor-in-chief of QW, proposed a magazine for gay readers to Time Inc. Ventures. The proposed magazine would aim to encompass the spectrum of gay political opinion.[5]

Masters would go on to be a trailblazer in LGBTQ journalism with a career spanning over 40 years, working at LGNY, later founding Gay City News and the Los Angeles Blade.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Schindler, Paul (2024-12-13). "Troy Masters, Gay City News co-founder, LA Blade publisher, dead at 63". gaycitynews.com. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; QW to Cease Publication". The New York Times. 1992-11-27. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  3. ↑ Mangan, Colleen; Masters, Troy; McDonald, Avril; Roshan, Maer, eds. (1991). NYQ. New York, NY: NYQ Publishing, Inc. OCLC 27668405.
  4. 1 2 Meehan, Eileen R.; Riordan, Ellen (2001). Sex and Money: Feminism and Political Economy in the Media. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1-4529-0526-6.
  5. 1 2 Carmody, Deirdre (1994-01-24). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Time Inc. Considers Starting a Magazine for Gay Readers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  6. ↑ Schindler, Paul (2025-03-11). "March 30 memorial to honor Troy Masters". gaycitynews.com. Archived from the original on 2026-03-16. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
  7. ↑ "ISSN 1064-7635 - QW (New York, N.Y.)". portal.issn.org. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  8. ↑ Morrison, Tony (2024-12-14). "Remembering Troy Masters, Trailblazing LGBTQ Advocate, Journalist, Pioneer and Friend | GLAAD". Archived from the original on 2026-01-31. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.