by Joe Siegel

The December 11, 2024, death of Troy Masters, publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, is being mourned by LGBTQ journalists across the country. Masters, 63, took his own life, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s report.

Masters’ career in LGBTQ media spanned decades. He joined the staff of OutWeek as an advertising account executive in November 1989. The New York City-based weekly changed the tone of LGBTQ journalism and publishing with provocative content and a pro-activist outlook.

“Troy was doing ad sales for PC Magazine and was miserable because he felt that he was unable to share the reality of his life in the AIDS epidemic with his homophobic colleagues,” said former OutWeek editor in chief Gabriel Rotello in the Bay Area Reporter. “[Advertising Director] Kit Winter had placed an ad in the Village Voice seeking ad reps for an ‘upstart gay weekly.’ Troy showed up in a suit and tie, and the rest is history. He was a very successful ad representative, and he quickly became essential to the magazine. He also learned the business of gay publishing, which stood him in good stead for the rest of his life.”

Masters founded Gay City News in New York City in 2002 and relocated to Los Angeles in 2015. In 2017, he became the founding publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, a sister publication of the venerable Washington Blade.

Masters’ family released a statement to the Blade on December 12. “We are shocked and devastated by the loss of Troy,” the statement read. “He was a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community and leaves a tremendous legacy of fighting for social justice and equality. We ask for your prayers and for privacy as we mourn this unthinkable loss. We will announce details of a celebration of life in the near future.”

Masters’ colleagues also paid tribute to a man they considered a role model and friend.

“Troy was a pioneering journalist and advocate for LGBTQ equality who dedicated his life to serving others,” said Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade. “I am personally heartbroken over his loss, but the work of the Los Angeles Blade continues. We are working now to chart the next course and in the meantime, the paper is well served with editor Gisselle Palomera on the ground in LA representing the publication. We expect to make announcements in January about a celebration of life and about plans for a new publisher. Thank you to everyone who has reached out. Please keep Troy’s mother and sister in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this unfathomable loss.”

Michael Yamashita, publisher of the Bay Area Reporter, said, “I have known Troy as a fellow publisher and friend for over 20 years. He was smart and accomplished. More than a few times, he started gay publications — in New York City and Los Angeles. I will miss working with him.”

Dana Piccoli, managing director of News Is Out, an LGBTQ media collaborative, wrote: “Troy was a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and pioneer in queer media. We were lucky to work with him as a member of News Is Out and will forever be grateful for the barriers he broke down for the queer community. Our hearts are with our colleagues at the Los Angeles Blade and the Washington Blade.”

Journalist and Blade contributor Jasmyne Cannick also praised Masters.

“Through the years, he was supportive of my work, giving me space and a voice as a columnist and reporter for the Blade newspapers when it mattered most,” Cannick wrote on X. “Troy understood the importance of covering the Black LGBTQ+ community and made it a point to ask me what stories they needed to be telling.”

Karen Ocamb, who served as the news editor and a reporter for the Los Angeles Blade, wrote a tribute to Masters on December 17. “Troy launched The Pride L.A. as part of the Mirror Media Group, which publishes the Santa Monica Mirror and other Westside community papers. But on June 12, 2016, the day of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., Troy said he found MAGA paraphernalia in a partner’s office. He immediately plotted his exit. On March 10, 2017, Troy and the internationally respected Washington Blade announced the launch of the Los Angeles Blade.”

Ocamb spoke to many who knew Masters for many years, including Joshua Schare, director of communications for the City of West Hollywood, who knew Troy for 30 years, starting in 1994 as a college intern at OUT Magazine.

“Troy was immensely committed to covering stories from the LGBTQ community. Following his move to Los Angeles from New York, he became dedicated to featuring news from the City of West Hollywood in the Los Angeles Blade and we worked with him for many years,” said Schare. “Like so many of us at the City of West Hollywood and in the region’s LGBTQ community, I will miss him and his day-to-day impact on our community.”

“Troy Masters was a visionary, mentor, and advocate; however, the title I most associated with him was friend,” West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson told Ocamb. “Troy was always a sense of light and working to bring awareness to issues and causes larger than himself. He was an advocate for so many and for me personally, not having him in the world makes it a little less bright. Rest in Power, Troy. We will continue to cause good trouble on your behalf.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 26
Issue 11