Writers at New England's Premier Gay Newspaper Step Down

Four long-time contributors to IN Newsweekly, including former editor Fred Kuhr, have either formally resigned or stopped contributing to the newspaper after the new publisher repeatedly failed to pay them in a timely manner and ignored concerns over its new editorial direction.

The group – which also includes Cambridge, Mass.-based columnist and reporter Chuck Colbert, Rhode Island correspondent Joe Siegel, and religion columnist Rev. Irene Monroe – contend that these issues began last year after New York-based HX Media purchased IN Newsweekly.

Previously, the newspaper was owned by local publisher Chris Robinson.

Under HX, the writers’ pay checks were delayed for months after their work appeared in the newspaper.  They were also troubled by the apparent new direction of the newspaper, which sacrificed hard news coverage in favour of more focus on local clubs and nightlife.

Additionally, the new owner and editor repeatedly ignored the writers' concerns over this new editorial focus.

Kuhr, who was hired as IN Newsweekly’s news editor in 1998 and was promoted to editor-in-chief in 2002, resigned late last month.

“Under new ownership and a new editor, the newspaper has taken a new direction, and it is one in which I see less of a role for myself to play,” Mr. Kuhr said.

The group also wrote a joint letter to HX Media CEO Matthew Bank last month seeking a face-to-face meeting to discuss their various concerns.  He failed to respond to the request, the group says.

“The letter sent to IN Newsweekly management was strongly worded, but left open wide a door for communication and resolution,” commented Mr. Colbert, who has written for IN Newsweekly for over a decade.

“Communication and resolution is what we ultimately sought, but management’s silence left us no other choice.

“The lack of response to our collective letter as well as my own letter to editor William Henderson and HX Media CEO Matthew Bank points, once again, to the nature of the problems – heavy-handed and top down management, along with strong-armed editor/writer relationships, all of which is counterproductive to morale, especially in our industry and craft.

“Never in my 15-plus years as a freelance journalist have I ever been treated with such disrespect and lack of basic courtesy,” Mr. Colbert said, adding that he was owed more than $2,300.

Mr. Siegel, who covered Rhode Island for five years, said: “An attempt was made to address the paper’s ongoing problems and to work together with HX management to make IN Newsweekly a higher quality publication.

“We were asking for some explanations as to why there was suddenly less money available for writers while at the same time advertisements were being placed for new positions.  The lack of response was dismaying and emblematic of a lack of vision for the newspaper,” he said.