@OUTinPerth

OUTinPerth

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If you could change one thing about the Perth LGBTI "scene" and nightlife, what would it be?

OUTinPerth

January 20, 2015

Sophie says, "I wish people would focus on the things that unite us rather than the things that are different, and we should be open to queer experiences which are different to our own."

Graeme says, "I wish more people would go out and enjoy the great venues, performers and events that are on. You don't need to stay home and watch TV, get a digital recorder - watch it later. 'Scene' - well it's as real as Narnia, Wonderland and the KLF's Mu Mu Land - and should be treated the same.

Ryan says, "I'd love to see our community be more supportive of alternative nights, venues and experiences. We need to be more proactive about finding out about the things that are happening, saying 'Perth is Boring' is not an option."

Latest answers from OUTinPerth

As journalists do you think your careers would be where they were if not for Out in Perth, in other words, did you succeed in journalism in a straight orientated office?

dick swivler

January 20, 2015

Graeme's answer:
That's a really great question. I previously worked in radio, and film making and animation. Some of those work places were very corporate and mainstream..and yes, I was successful (I think).

OUTinPerth is certainly a very different beast, you have a lot more freedom and creativity, but also a lot less resources.

Many of the staff who've work at OUTinPerth over the years have come from other publications, and returned to mainstream publications. Former OUTinPerth staffer Benn Dorrington is now at Melbourne's Herald Sun, while Nadine Walker is the media adviser to a federal politician.

Sophie's answer:
Well this is my first journalism job, I'd like to think I;d survive regardless of the orientation of the publication, but I think that OUTinPerth allows a creative freedom you don't find at other publications.

If you were doing your last issue and you had the ability to interview anyone, who would you interview?

January 20, 2015

I hope we never have a last issue, we're here for the long haul. We do have some people we'd really like to interview though.

The Prime Minister Tony Abbott, there are lots of questions we'd like to ask about a whole range of topics.

Kylie Minogue, while Kylie's done lots of interviews in queer press - she's never spoken to OUTinPerth. We've come close a few times, but it's never worked out. Maybe it'll happen soon, finger's crossed.

Stephen Fry, sadly Stephen never does interviews with print media. We did offer to launch the OUTinPerth Weekly video podcast when he toured Australia with Q.I. and invited him to be the first guest. Luckily I did get to meet him privately though - he's very lovely.

Graeme Watson - Editor

If you could change one thing about Out in Perth, what would it be?

January 20, 2015

It's never one thing, there are hundreds of things we'd like to change and we're always evolving a little each issue.

BUT if there is one over-riding goal of change we work towards, it's trying to have more pages in each issue, so we can cover more topics, and getting more places to stock the magazine, so more people can enjoy OUTinPerth.

Our current issue is a bumper 48 pages, and the magazine has picked up 30 new outlets recently, bringing us to a grand total of 262 locations. We're also happy to be reaching lots of people through our online PDF version.

Another change we're happy to have made with the January issue is our new tagline. For many years on our masthead it's read 'Gay & Lesbian Life & Style' - a word play on the accusation that sexuality is a 'lifestyle' option.

We really wanted to update that line to be more inclusive, and recognise the diversity that exists in people's sexuality. So we've launched our new tagline 'Something Different'. We chose this because we embrace diversity, look for different stories to tell, and different ways of telling them.

Graeme Watson - Editor

hi is Blake Johnson channel 7 news reader gay or str8?he is my favourite news reader wish he is gay

January 20, 2015

Blake Johnson has spoken about what it's like being a gay person in his profession. He appeared on RTRFM's weekly LGBTIQ program 'All Things Queer' back in 2013.

Read what Blake had to say about being a gay journalist.
http://www.outinperth.com/stuff-said-9/

What does it take to a create a local magazine covering the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer community? Is it possible?

January 15, 2015

What does it take? A lot of long hours, creativity, perseverance, mountains of communication and a fair bit of ingenuity, but it's also a lot of fun, constantly enlightening and filled with moments of madness.

The LGBTIQ community is very diverse, not only in the spectrum of sexuality and gender, but also age and interests. So it can be challenging to have enough variety of content to meet everyone's interests. Some stories take months to create, while others take just mere minutes Some people are easy to access - like musicians and politicians (especially those in opposition), while others, like actors, are difficult to get interviews with.

The best ideas for stories though always come from the readership, that why we love it when people tell us what they'd like to see more / or less of.

Graeme Watson, Editor

Who is the most interesting person to work in the OUTinPerth office? Past and present.

January 15, 2015

I think this is an impossible question to answer. We're up to issue 163 of OUTinPerth, that means we've been doing this for round 13 years, and over that time the staff have changed and there is no one person who has been involved for the whole period. So who can say...

Everyone who has worked at OUTinPerth has been incredibly interesting, and everyone has had their memorable moments. (Quite a diplomatic answer huh) - Graeme Watson, Editor

Who is the most interesting person you interviewed? and who has been the best contributor/staffer to work with?

January 09, 2015

Who has been the most interesting person you've interviewed?

Sophie says,
I found Wil Anderson really interesting, but I might be biased because he's my comedy hero. I loved chatting Adam Richard about 'Outland' and 'Spicks and Specks'.

Dr Gavi Ansara who spoke a sexual health in ageing and is an expert on trans issues was incredibly interesting. I really liked talking to Sarah Snook about her role in the film 'Predestination'.

Graeme says,
There are so many. The person I've interviewed the most is Tina Arena, who is an incredibly fascinating person who has really deep and profound thoughts on what is to be a creative professional - as well as a real interest in veterans and Australian society. When I first chatted to Tina I wasn't a big fan of her music - but she may have since converted me into a fan.

The interviews we did with Martha Wash from The Weather Girls and Patricia Quinn who played Magenta in the Rocky Horror Show were great. On the local front, a chat with Strykermeyer is unbeatable and Patrick Coward, the owner of the Margaret River Chocolate Factory, was very interesting.

Talking to people, who to a large extent we completely disagree with like Bernard Gaynor, or Dr Daniel Naliah or the Australian Christian Lobby is both challenging and insightful.

Ryan says,
It was awesome speaking to Tyler Oakley and hearing about how someone so young can achieve so much and be so selfless in their cause. On the other scale Erin Gray from 'Buck Rogers' gave an insight into what it's like to be in an industry for a long time and see how experiences come full circle, from being unknown - to famous - and then back to being an everyday person.

With OutinPerth's shift towards online content, how relevant is the print edition?

January 09, 2015

What a great question!

You would expect that with more content being online, and our entire print edition being online - (both as a PDF flipbook and each story being posted on the website) - that there would be be less demand for the print edition.

We're finding the complete opposite is occurring, we're still printing 10,000 copies of OUTinPerth each month. No other LGBTIQ magazine in Australia prints as many copies for a single city distribution.

I don't think newspapers and magazine will ever disappear. Nothing quite beats sitting down with magazine and a cup of coffee.

Over the last decade there have been big changes in the distribution of magazines like OUTinPerth, previously they were found predominately in queer venues, today we're found in tons of cafes, supermarkets and shops.

Graeme Watson - Editor

Language: English

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