Gay Mens Chorus Sings Praises of Blade

Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C., presented the former Washington Blade with a check Wednesday night for a full-page ad in the newspaper's new print iteration, the D.C. Agenda, which will be available on Friday.

Former Blade editor Kevin Naff, who will head up the D.C. Agenda, called the ad buy, one of six pages' worth that have poured in unsolicited this week, a pleasant surprise.

"They took a full-page ad in this first modest issue and they went out of their way to deliver it in person," said Naff. "It was unexpected and very heartwarming."

The chorus made the offering at a previously scheduled party for former Blade readers in Washington that turned into an impromptu transition party after the publication's closure was announced Monday.

Naff told The Advocate that the party at the Hard Rock Cafe was a blast, so much so that early Thursday morning he could not immediately recall the amount of the check the chorus presented.

"That I don't know," he said. "It was kind of a chaotic night."

Naff said the eight-page issue of the D.C. Agenda, which he calls "very modest," will be distributed on Friday in and around Washington. It will also be available online at SaveTheBlade.com and at DCAgenda.com, the latter site becoming operative on Friday.

"There are two pieces on the cover," said Naff. "One is a letter from me reintroducing the staff and publication and assuring folks that our mission continues. The other is a new story about the domestic partner federal benefits bill reported out of committee Thursday night."