![]() ![]() Oreva Capital, the Los Angeles-based private equity firm that owns parent company Pride Media, had proven chronically unable or unwilling to pay freelancers and vendors despite numerous promises from owner Adam Levin and his lieutenants over the past several months, current and former staffers said. “People could have quit today if the money didn’t come through, from my understanding,” another Pride Media employee with knowledge of the company’s strategy said Thursday, shortly after the cash landed. The financial pressures, coupled with mismanagement, led to a near-death experience. The magazine’s current predicament, meanwhile, hews closely to that of many media companies today: weakened by Big Tech’s dominance of digital advertising, scooped up by vulture investors. Out’s rise in many ways mirrored the trajectory of LGBTQ issues within politics and culture during the second half of that period, putting major celebrities on its cover and even landing a sitdown interview President Barack Obama. The uncertainty left Out hanging in the balance at the outset of a Pride Month doubling as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, which sparked the modern gay rights movement. ![]() “Those people always fail queer people and people of color first.” “This is a story of greed - of people who want to own media for their own cultural cachet or power or private gain,” the senior staffer said. The unanswered question still hovering above it all, several current and former Pride Media employees told VICE News, is why a private equity firm bought queer media outlets with serious cash-flow problems and limited financial upside in the first place. Phillip Picardi, the Conde Nast-bred wunderkind brought on last year to be Out’s editor-in-chief, had even threatened to leave if the payments weren’t made, according to three people at Pride Media. The situation pushed some staffers still at the iconic LGBTQ publication to polish their resumes. Top brass’ unkept promises bred distrust among employees past and present. Out’s reputation has been tarnished among the community of freelancers that produce many aspects of the magazine. “This is a story of greed … Those people always fail queer people and people of color first.”īut the turmoil that led to this point has left a trail of disillusionment in its wake. ![]()
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