by Evelyn Bailey
The 40th Anniversary of The Empty Closet newspaper took place on Feb. 27 at the Tea Room on the fourth floor of the Auditorium Center. The focus was on the past editors and staff, at a time when there was no identified editor who month after month “got the paper out”.
Obviously it takes more than the editors, more than the recounting of local, national and in some cases international news, to keep a newspaper an integral part of a community’s life. Reporting the news for the most part deals with the facts of what happened or what is expected to happen. A community newspaper’s purpose is to do more than this. It is to share information and ideas and often personal opinions on topics of interest. Newspaper columnists are the primary conduit through which this communication happens.
Columnists play an important role in our media-savvy society; compiling information and writing pieces that inform us about current local, national and international events, the conduct of public officials, corporate executives, special-interest groups and others who live in the limelight, in addition to personal stories. The Empty Closet columnists have done this with a variety of topics ranging from gay family, youth and senior issues and transgender liberation, to our general struggle for equality, the AIDS crisis and personal experiences.
With each of our columnists, the goal in writing is to figure out how to present these topics logically and sometimes humorously, so that people can understand, enjoy and use the information in their daily lives.
Columnists usually have a unique voice that separates them from reporters and reviewers. They also usually stick with their character writing style in every single column. The Empty Closet columnists have been successful in their efforts, and have a dedicated readership that looks forward to reading their monthly columns. Our columnists stay on top of the game in order to deliver an interesting, thought provoking and sometimes humorous column.
Usually every aspect of a columnist’s life is a potential story. They must consider issues that their readers can relate to and also want to read about and transform them into good works. Columnists may focus on their personal and social lives, or on topics such as politic, religion, health, family life and parenting, transgendner issues or humor.
The Empty Closet’s columnists play an important role in the Rochester GLBT community. They all have unique voices, they all are excellent writers. Each one connects with their readers, and connects their personal experience with the story they are writing. Columnists began writing for the Empty Closet in 1987. Over the past 24 years, there have been 90 columnists who have written for the Empty Closet.
The very first columnists who wrote for The Empty Closet December –January–February issues of 1987 and 1988 were Bob Owens, Richard Lambourn, Eric Bellman, Betty Barcode, Jack Bradigan Spula, Anawim, Susan Dyer, Aqualone, Deborah, Ariel, Tom Krolak, and Martha Randall. Most of these columnists had a run of approximately five to 10 years.
Then, as early columnists ended their runs, new columnists joined, and in the past three-to-five years many Rochester-area columnists have continued to carry the torch, including Eric Bellmann (who has written for the paper for over two decades), Meredith Elizabeth Reiniger, Ove Overmeyer, Rabbi Amy Sapowith, Troy Robinson, Miguel Colon Ortiz, Diana Lynn, Ari Lev, Vince Sgambati, Paul Johnstone, Robby Morris, David Hull, Erik Libey, KaeLyn Rich, Reverend Dr. Sharon Jacobson, Bonnie Reda and Laura McSpadden. The EC has also featured national LGBT columnists like Mubarak Dahir, Brian McNaught and the Rev. Irene Monroe.
Of these early and most current columnists Tom Krolak and Eric Bellman stand out for their selfless contribution of time and energy in writing a column for The Empty Closet. Tom wrote a history column for The Empty Closet, in which he would recognize an important personage who was born or who died during the month who was either gay or helped the gay community further its agenda for equality and justice. For approximately 15 years Tom shared with us his passion for our past and present heroes.
Eric Bellman is the columnist who has had a column in The Empty Closet the longest: 23 years. Eric always uses the same title– “Growing Up”. This has become his “trademark” and has been a most appropriate description of the focus of Eric’s column, which has been the voice of one gay male individual in all aspects of his life, learning and growing over the years.
This is an incredible, inspiring demonstration of care, commitment, and dedication to his art. In his columns, Eric has written about his own life and experiences for all of us to laugh about, cry over, seriously consider, and be appreciative of the openness and honesty with which he shares his life.
Although columnists do offer opinionated, controversial and sometimes satirical viewpoints, they must provide accurate information. It is also important that they know about journalism ethics and laws related to journalism. It is crucial that columnists have a complex understanding of different cultures and be sensitive to these.
These many dedicated, unsung Shoulders create their columns every month, month after month. With appreciation and gratitude for your craft and generosity, Shoulders To Stand On is proud to sing the praises of the men and women who share their unique voices with the Upstate New York GLBT community – the columnists of The Empty Closet newspaper!