For over 10 years, we’ve watched the Middle Tennessee GLBT community grow and we’ve been with it every step of the way. As organizations have formed and the community has strengthened, we’ve strived to reflect its changing needs and diversity.

In 2002, we recognized a need in the GLBT community. We needed a publication that was ours—that is to say we needed a publication that would not only report on the news that affected our community but also a forum to spotlight the news that our community was making. Out & About filled that niche.

While we’ve seen changes over the last 10 years—most notably being the evolution from a strict newspaper to the incorporation of a glossy cover—we couldn’t be more excited to unveil the next step in our growth. We’ve had a secret and now the secret is out … introducing  the fresh, new look of O&AN.

What’s in a name?

From Out & About Nashville to Out & About Newspaper to O&AN, we’ve earned a strong name with the Middle Tennessee GLBT community. Returning to the roots of Out &About Nashville, or simply O&AN, marks a renewed commitment to providing the Middle Tennessee GLBT community with content that will educate, enrich and inform their daily lives.

Readers should continue to expect O&AN to continue breaking news that impacts their lives. We were the first news outlet anywhere in the world to break the news that the national HIV vaccine trial, HVTN 505, was discontinuing immunizations. With a strong community connection through Vanderbilt University, the HVTN 505 breaking news story powerfully impacts our community. 

In addition to our retaining our place as the community’s premier news source, we’re also expanding our coverage of events, arts & entertainment and community features. This month we’ve profiled community leaders Vic Sorrell and Maria Salas, who both were recently honored with awards highlighting their contributions to the community at-large, as well as provided O&AN readers with a GLBT-exclusive interview with pop/R&B superstar Brandy. Our expanded coverage once again solidifies our position as the only GLBT publication that provides well-rounded coverage of the Tennessee GLBT experience.

Do a double take with our new design

From the cover to the pages in between, we’re excited to unveil the fresh, new look of O&AN.

Our updated logo reflects the growth, maturity and changes we’ve experienced over the past ten years. Boldly stretched across the cover, the logo’s contemporary look is eye-catching and will appeal to those who may have written off print publications as well as our legions of loyal readers.

While this month’s issue features completely redesigned headers to a comprehensive events calendar, our new fresh face continues digitally as well with a brand-new website launching at the beginning of the month.

Whether you get your Tennessee GLBT community coverage strictly from the paper, from the internet or a mixture of both, our new website design streamlines content into a user-friendly, navigable site with something for everyone. While the website will be the first place the community will find breaking news, it will also feature daily updates of issues outside of the community and expanded coverage of local events and personalities that will be exclusive to _O&N.

“The print publication is just one component of our business,” said O&AN publisher Jerry Jones. “It’s certainly an important component but not the only one when looking for ways to deliver news and information to our audience.  The platform we have built takes that into consideration and allows for growth with other components as our readership changes.”

What does the future hold?

Innovation has always been the key to O&AN’s success. Being the first (and only) GLBT publication to be distributed at Kroger across Middle Tennessee, we are continuously looking for ways to introduce our publication to new readers.

“This only just the beginning of an exciting year of growth and change,” Jones said. “We see a huge market in the digital arena and we’re looking forward to offering some very exciting products in that area in the very near future. We’ve got some very cool ideas that are in the development stage that we’re working on that will target a younger demographic to introduce them to our publication.”

As always, O&AN will continue to keep our finger on the pulse of the local GLBT community by soliciting feedback and story ideas from our readers, expanding our ever-growing roster of contributors by including a wider range of diverse voices and pushing our team harder to provide coverage relevant to your experience.

Have a story idea or interested in writing with O&AN? Let us know.

Drop us a note and let us know what you think about our new look.