Advocate Editor in Chief Stepping Down

Longtime Advocate editor Anne Stockwell announced Friday that she is stepping down from the magazine's top position as editor in chief, effective in mid June. Veteran journalist and former Advocate news editor Jon Barrett will take her place, according to here! Networks, which is in the process of acquiring The Advocate and its sister publications.

Stockwell rose through the ranks during her 15-year tenure and as editor in chief has overseen the magazine's 40th anniversary and a redesign. On May 10, Stockwell accepted an award for Outstanding Magazine -- Overall Coverage by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an honor never before given to an LGBT publication. She will continue to contribute to the magazine as editor at large and plans to contribute to Out and Out Traveler in the future.

"It's been an honor to help build and grow The Advocate," Stockwell said. "This remarkable magazine is essential to our community. I'm proud to be part of its tradition."

Barrett is slated to take Stockwell's position in June. Prior to returning to The Advocate, Barrett worked for O at Home, O the Oprah Magazine, Cargo, and Real Simple.

"The Advocate has always mirrored the needs of its readership, whether that meant advancing the explosive push for civil rights in the 1960s, documenting the heady liberation of the 1970s, or assuming the serious -- and necessary -- mantle of newsmagazine in the 1980s and '90s," Barrett said in a statement. (The Advocate)