March 3, 2009 | The Biz

Gay Chicago Mag says no to porn

Gay Chicago Magazine won't touch porn with a ten-foot pole now that the periodical has new owners.

According to GayPornTimes, porn reviews and “The Adams Report by JC Adams” were unceremoniously dropped on Friday.

Adams says that his last editorial -- a memorial to Caleb Carter -- will not be published. "I think (Carter) would find it hilarious that my column would get shitcanned before it could run.

"They were one of the last remaining print outlets to offer thorough, detailed gay porn reviews. They continued to publish my syndicated column after Big Daddy passed on in 2006, and it’s been one of my longest-running gigs (the magazine was founded in 1977 and is Chicago’s oldest continually operating LGBT publication)," Adams added.

"Big Daddy" was Ralph Paul Gernhardt -- the man behind the gay adult video reviews that were published in Gay Chicago Magazine as well as the online version which went by the name Behind Closed Doors. Since his death the online site has languished and several emails we sent to the magazine about the future of the reviews went unanswered.

There's no doubt in our minds that the decision to drop video reviews was simply that they weren't making money.  Two years ago, Phoenix-based  X Factor Magazine, which specialized in gay adult video reviews, ceased publishing in paper.  Like the mainstream media, the gay media is undergoing a sea change as paper publications are forced to merge and sometimes go under as advertising revenues dry up.

This development also brings into question the future of The Grabby Awards which were founded and primarily sponsored by Gay Chicago Magazine. Perhaps they will be sold off to the highest bidder ...