“The only constant in life is change.” Sometimes for the bad: my uncle Tom — Mr. T to his nephews — passed away just a few days before Christmas this year. And sometimes for the good: my niece had her first baby the day after Christmas, making me the great uncle I knew I always could be. But it is always constant.
When Watermark formed in 1994, the queer community was struggling for protection in the workplace, safety from hate crimes and a general sense of equality to name a few concerns. There was no specific piece of legislation that prevented anyone from “saying gay,” but if you did it would certainly get people’s attention, and not in a positive way, generally speaking.
It was a conscious decision to not call the newspaper (insert city name here) Gay News. Although the tagline “Florida’s Distinctive Gay and Lesbian Publication” was on the front page, the concern of naming the paper Gay was twofold: 1) readers may not feel comfortable sitting down in public to read it or pick it up and 2) local businesses wouldn’t allow the paper to be distributed in their stores. Both valid in my opinion, as it would defeat the purpose of starting the paper if it didn’t get into the hands of the community.
Watermark fulfilled its mission. It connected and helped strengthen the community in Central Florida and Tampa Bay. Although full equality remains elusive, we have made gains in workplace protections, marriage equality and the passage of hate crime legislation. We have lived in this space somewhat comfortably for the past several years; 2025 hints at challenging those gains.
I have always been a fan of LGBTQ+ rights activist Harvey Milk. He was one of the first gay people I learned about when I first came out. In his “Hope Speech” of 1978 he said, “Like every other group, we must be judged by our leaders and by those who are themselves gay, those who are visible. For invisible, we remain in limbo — a myth, a person with no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no friends who are straight, no important positions in employment.”
I’ve thought about this over the past years as corporate America has begun to shy away from public support in the wake of Florida’s attacks on Disney and the blowback of Bud Light’s collaboration with a trans activist. These hard times are not the cue to retreat, they are the indication that we need more support, more visibility.
We at Watermark have decided it is time for us to be more visible, to come out of the closet so to speak. We cover the news in a state that is ground zero for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and we want everyone to know that we are here to inform and support the LGBTQ+ community. Watermark will now operate under the name Watermark Out News. Same trusted news source, more visibly out.
For those that follow us on social media, you will start to see those change to fit our new name in the coming days, as well as our website and email addresses.
We will also be rebranding our best of WAVE awards, now known as the WONDER Awards or Watermark Out News: Diversity, Excellence and Resilience Awards. Our nomination round runs through Jan. 15. Don’t miss your chance to honor your favorites!
Watermark Out News is also adding something new to each issue this year known as The Good Page. On this page we will share with you the good news we know we need. It might be a business hitting a milestone, a profile of an individual doing good work or a family celebrating an adoption or marriage. This first issue, The Good Page highlights Gabby and Emily of Hornet Designs. They’re helping empower trans members of our community with gender-affirming photo editing services that help people see themselves as they want to be seen.
Thanks to a grant from Press Forward, Watermark will be diving into new territory by hiring a social media coordinator for the first time. Our plan is to bring news to you in ways we haven’t been able to do before.
There is a lot of change to digest with Watermark Out News, but what has not changed is our staff, dedicated to the mission of advancing and informing LGBTQ+ interests, and our commitment to bringing you the stories of your life in a way no other publication does.
As we close out our 30th year and look to the future, I encourage you to stay visible, stay strong and support each other.
