by Matt Tracy
(Matt Tracy is editor in chief of New York City-based Gay City News. This piece, which ran last month in the newspaper, is reprinted here with permission.)

As part of this year’s Impact Awards, Gay City News is recognizing founding editor Paul Schindler for his decades of service and dedication to the LGBTQ community in New York City and beyond.

Paul spent more than two decades leading the city’s LGBTQ news coverage, first with Gay City News’ predecessor, Lesbian and Gay New York (LGNY), and then with Gay City News until he retired at the end of last year. He led by example through his honest, sensitive, and comprehensive news coverage.

Our community is constantly in need of quality journalism to help tell our stories of success and hardship, to hold people accountable, and to be a resource in an evolving world. Paul embraced those challenges day in and day out, guiding Gay City News through some of the most pivotal developments in our community’s history while garnering annual recognition from the New York Press Association.

Rather than treating his work like a job, he considered it to be his contribution to our community because he knew it was necessary to give our community a voice.

At our Impact Awards cocktail event on October 21 of this year, Paul received a plaque from the Gay City News and Schneps Media team to celebrate his memorable career. The event also featured a highlight reel displaying countless snapshots of Paul over the years. Our wonderful photographer, Donna Aceto, deserves credit for capturing those historic moments.

The work of Gay City News today would not be possible without Paul’s devotion to journalism and our community. We are proud to acknowledge and appreciate his outstanding career.

GUEST COMMENTARY
Volume 23
Issue 9