Reporter's Notebook: The Obligations of June

“What have you done to make me feel proud?”

Heather Small’s chorus on her hit single in 2000 from the album of the same name resonates as the calendar rolls over into June. Of course, that would mean one thing…

LGBTQ Pride Month.

I know there are readers who wished I would not talk about this on this website. I also know there are those who rather wished I drop this site and concentrate on my magazine job. A job that works within the LGBTQ community. 

That’s like telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble.” 

However, I approach my first LGBTQ Pride Month as the Managing Editor of Lavender Magazine by bringing something to the table. I have to be “all in,” right?

Well…maybe. 

First of all, I need to look into my own history. I tried to become someone who can lead a community, but I felt that I was not given enough respect to do so. Therefore, I felt burned by that community. Perhaps it was my fault. Yeah, let’s go with that…

Those instances drove me onto the path of automotive journalism. It is a place that I felt welcomed and respected – for the most part. It was an area where being LGBTQ really didn’t matter – unless you are writing to that audience and is networking with manufacturers and other entities towards driving specific content to that audience. 

When it comes to networking with the community, I am a bit shy. Perhaps in trying to reconcile the wounds of previous attempts at networking with the community. Trying to find a new approach in doing so. 

Amid relocating to a new home, I have a laundry list of obligations to fulfill. Opportunities to “show face” and talk about the magazine. Plus, to enjoy the community and see some things that should be cool to experience. 

What’s on my laundry list? Without giving you dates and such, here you go…

• The magazine’s monthly First Thursday mixer, called the Pride Kick-Off Party, in downtown Minneapolis
• East Central Minnesota Pride in Pine City
• A picnic with a local corporation’s LGBTQ employee resource group
• Interview a comedian and seeing her show in Minneapolis
• Pride events in Eau Claire and Stockholm in Wisconsin – on the same day!
• Twin Cities Pride – both the festival and the parade

I’m sure I’m missing a few more things, but you get the gist.

There are a few things missing, mind you. Some are unlisted for a reason, as Lavender’s “on the scene” photographer will be covering most of the events scheduled during this month in and around the Twin Cities. 

Yet, there is a feeling that I should be “everywhere.” It is “obligation,” as one of the characters in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of The City kindly put it. An obligation to make sure I bring the magazine's business cards along to these events.

But, is it really an obligation to represent the magazine within the community? On some level, yes. 

In the meantime, there is this drive to celebrate the task of putting out a 200-plus page issue for the start of LGBTQ Pride Month. According to the magazine’s publisher, we did so in an “efficient” manner. We met our amended deadlines and other challenges to send it to the printers. We’re about to follow that up with the second biggest issue of the year, celebrating the magazine’s Community Award winners and presenting its LGBTQ Under 40 list. 

To be honest, I am not in a celebratory mood. Not for being sour on things, but understanding the challenges ahead, as I go from issue to issue with getting stories assigned to making sure we meet the deadlines. 

Unlike V&R, a magazine takes time to go from story pitch to assignment to submission to layout to publication. If there is something that the magazine should include, I'd rather if you present that to me up to two months before publication. That way, I can smartly plan out that issue by putting the story in the log, assigning a writer (or me) and let that story run the complete cycle.

This is why I work well in advance at the magazine. To simply align with an issue's theme and meet its deadline(s). Some of these practices are in place at V&R, as well. 

If you want a challenge, try fielding pitches from public relations people (outside of the ones I know and work very well with), artist managers, and the artists themselves. The number of pitches I get to put their story into the magazine for Pride month alone is just staggering. That is why I had to say “no” to a lot of pitches. I also know that some of my writers – especially those specializing in the theater and books – already get the same pitch e-mails I do. 

As I mentioned before, it takes a process to assign a story. It also takes time. You want your client to be in print or online, but you’re not giving me enough timeframe to do so. Plus, once that story is published, the magazine still has to promote it through social media. 

All of this does take the fun out of LGBTQ Pride Month. It is not a month to celebrate, but to work. Perhaps my work ethic at the magazine alone may prevent me from truly celebrating my community and my role in it. 

Which I still find solace in the car community. 

At the Twin Cities Auto Show, one of my friends and key figures at Drive Cartel (a car club here in the Twin Cities) asked if I was going to make it to their next Cars and Crafts event in St. Paul. I hesitated to fully commit to it because I would be coming home from a Pride event elsewhere. In response, my friend Ian did state that I would always be welcomed at a Drive Cartel event. 

Well…if things go awry at any of the obligations I set forth during LGBTQ Pride Month, I know where I’d be welcomed at. 

Happy LGBTQ Pride Month, folks!

All photos by Randy Stern