Ohio’s Outlook to expand statewide
by Joe Siegel
Columbus, Ohio-based Outlook has announced plans to become a statewide publication beginning in June.
The magazine will change its name from Outlook Columbus Magazine to Outlook Ohio Magazine. Outlook’s website has already moved from www.outlookcolumbus.com to www.outlookohio.com.
“It’s a change that makes sense for us as a company, but more importantly, for us as the Ohio LGBT community,” said Christopher Hayes, Outlook’s publisher. “We are at the height of our struggle for equality in this state, and it’s important to have a unifying sounding board where we can all come together and talk about the issues at hand. We seek to be that voice.”
For 18 years, Outlook has covered Central Ohio’s LGBT community. It started as a newspaper in 1996 and transitioned to a monthly lifestyles publication in 2009.
“We’re hoping it will help us grow,” explained editor Bob Vitale. Outlook will be distributed in several major cities, including Toledo, Cincinnati, Dayton and Akron.
Members of the Outlook staff visited several LGBT organizations in Cleveland, which will host the 2014 Gay Games later this year. “They were really receptive to us coming up there,” Vitale said. “We do a lot of political coverage. Marriage equality is heating up in Ohio now. There’s a lot going on at the Statehouse now.”
Vitale said there is only one other widely distributed LGBT publication in the state, so the time was right to expand Outlook’s distribution. “We thought there was a need out there for information and for helping people find their voice,” Vitale explained.
Outlook is published monthly by Outlook Media, which also publishes High Street Neighborhoods Magazine and hosts Network Columbus, a monthly networking series for LGBT professionals.
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