‘South Florida Gay News’ closes weeks after death of founder Norm Kent

The “South Florida Gay News” is no more.

The go-to source for news on the local LGBTQ community published its last issue on May 25, just six weeks after the death of founder Norm Kent.

Longtime editor Jason Parsley says Kent left the Wilton Manors-based paper with massive debt that would take a lifetime to pay off. To make a clean break, Parsley and business partner Justin Wyse decided to close the paper and launch a new publication called “Out South Florida.”

Its first edition comes out Thursday, June 1.

Kent, an attorney who waged battle on the front lines of gay rights, died on April 13 at 73. Kent launched SFGN in January 2010, serving as columnist and publisher of the weekly.

“So very saddened to see SFGN publish its last issue,” Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman said. “These are extremely difficult times, especially in Florida, for the LGBTQ+ community, and a strong media voice is needed now more than ever.”

Parsley says he and his team of writers intend to provide that voice.

“We’ll have a new name, new look and new aesthetics, but the same commitment to news and journalism that I have always had.”

Parsley started working for Kent in 2011, helping the paper forge a reputation as a feisty advocate for the gay community.

Still, not everyone was a fan.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at odds with Kent in recent years, refused to speak to the paper, though he did grant an interview this week to a reporter for the new weekly “Out South Florida.”

Parsley says he’s been getting messages all week from readers upset about SFGN closing down.

“Ninety percent of the people are upset,” he said. “And 10 percent of the community was gleeful in our demise.”

John Fiore, the first openly gay mayor of Wilton Manors, says he didn’t care too much for Kent but he did read his paper.

“The newspaper was a valuable resource for the gay community,” Fiore said. “I always grabbed one when I’d see it at one of the news boxes in the neighborhood. It was free. And it was well written.”

Parsley says the new weekly won’t be all that different, though you might notice some new bylines along with the regular contributors.

Michael Rajner, a former Wilton Manors resident who now lives in Fort Lauderdale, wrote opinion pieces for SFGN and also turned up in stories for his role as an activist.

“They really were the only print news publication in the LGBTQ community,” he said. “SFGN provided an important platform for activists and highlighted the important work being done in our community. But they also were controversial in that they didn’t hold back from speaking out on important issues.”

Parsley says Kent pushed his staff to be fair but never shied away from challenging people in power, no matter how many feathers it would ruffle.

“The great thing is Norm never once killed a story of mine because an advertiser would be upset,” Parsley said. “I even had to write a negative story about him. He read it before he went to print.”

He didn’t like the story, Parsley said.

“But he didn’t kill it.”

Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan