z?\!J!¥ll§7!t‘tl 1956 Vol XIX No H J.mu;\ry 2005 . . . . . . guest editorial A Uniquely Vermont Voice uring my time as editor of Out In The Mountains in the mid- l990s, many readers — from inside as well as outside Vermont — would tell me how much the newspaper meant to them. But one reader’s com- ment still stands out in my memory. _ I met her one year at the annu- al conference of the then-narned Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights. She lived in a small, rural town in the Northeast Kingdom and traveled to the relatively metropolitan state capi- tal for the meeting. She‘ told me that she was the only gay person in her small hamlet, and living far from the state’s gay centers like Burlington, Montpelier and Brattleboro, she really did not feel a.part of the state’s gay, lesbian, bisexu- al, and transgender community — except for once a month when OIT M would appear in her mailbox. “That was my connection to my community," she told me. Those words guided me for the rest of my time at 0lT_M, as well as while I subsequently worked in the Boston-based gay press. Gays who live in larger, more visible communities likely already enjoy a sense of commu- nity just because of a high concentra- tion of gay neighbors. Because of that population density, the gay press tends to be based in those communities and cater mostly ‘to those larger local cities. And I ’m not just speaking of gay mec- cas like Boston and Providence. Ten years ago, battling “Chitteno-centrism” — a heavy focus on Chittenden County at the expense of the rest of the state — was an ongoing chal- . lenge. The paradox is that the readers who need newspapers like OITM the most are those we in the gay press tend to cover the least, simply because they are harder to reach, including the rural, the semi-closeted, and many students. 1 Of course. much has changed over the last decade. The lntemet has brought communities together beyond geographic borders, making virtual friends out of people who live across the country or the globe. The online world has also made anonymity easier. allowing many to ask questions or explore issues they wouldn't otherwise. Beyond that, news of the gay community has exploded into main- stream consciousness — everything from discrimination cases and gays in the military to Vennont civil unions and Massachusetts marriages. In fact. the together. While a national thinker like Andrew Sullivan. for example. can be found on CNN or in The New York Times. his is not a Vermont voice. reflecting Vermont values and Vennont's community. OITM does not just tie a gay. lesbian, bisexual and transgender com- munity together. it connects a Vermont community as well. And gay Vermonters should not have to rely on national media in order to communicate with each other. No other medium helps gay Vermonters understand their issues and their community better than OITM. Out In The Mountains has come a long way over the past 20 years. starting as a small. no-money newslet- ter and blossoming into a full-fledged newspaper with a board and a budget. OIT M can and should continue to grow over the next two decades and beyond. continuing to infomi. educate and No other medium helps gay Vermonters understand their issues and their community better than Out in the Mountains. Fred Kuhr, OITM editor 1994 - 1996 battle for marriage equality hit such a fever pitch over the past year that it became one of the biggest stories on a daily basis for mainstream papers. So many gay readers could now get their gay news in the Burlington Free Press, the Rutland Herald, or the Bennington Banner, instead of waiting for OITM. That. said, newspapers like Out In The Mountains continue to play a vital role in tying the community reflect Vermont’s unique gay. lesbian. bisexual and transgender community. v Fred Kuhr Editor At Large In Newsweekly Write us with your memories of 0ITM’s 20 years!