Out magazine’s parent company, Pride Media, has announced David Artavia as the magazine’s new editor in chief. Artavia is an award-winning Latinx journalist who most recently served as editor in chief of The Advocate, where he oversaw several milestones, including a digital cover with presidential candidate Joe Biden, a successful partnership with Snapchat, several Pride365 initiatives like Pride Live’s Stonewall Day, and the Revry series, “Inside With the Advocate.”
Artavia first worked for The Advocate as an editorial intern and, years later, moved into a managing editor role at both The Advocate and Plus magazines in 2016. The following year, Artavia helped launch Chill magazine, Pride Media’s first publication for Black and Latinx men, which won the 2018 Folio Awards for best editorial team and best magazine launch. Artavia’s reporting has ignited a dialogue about #MeToo and sexual assault among gay and bi men, access to health care among LGBTQ+ people, and corruption at the highest levels of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, D.C. His work has won NLGJA and GLAAD awards. Last year, he was a 2019 Folio Rising Star Honoree.
“It’s an honor to step into the shoes that have been crafted by past editors,” says Artavia. “The magazine has become a household name across the globe. For nearly 30 years, Out has affirmed our lives through storytelling, design, art, fashion, travel, and culture. As an editor, I am excited about the future and the ever-changing landscape in which we’re telling stories. This is a moment of reckoning for the fashion and entertainment industries, which are challenged not only in how they are created and distributed to consumers, but also how they address the racial inequities of the industry that has for too long discriminated against, tokenized, and exploited Black and brown people. Under my leadership, Out will be a part of the vanguard exploring new terrain in creating and promoting a more just, equitable, and environmentally conscious culture and amplifying voices rarely heard. The nation is continuing to heal from this year’s seemingly endless obstacles. We need an escape. We need each other. We need Out.”
“I am fortunate to have worked with some of the most talented journalists in the business at The Advocate and I’m excited to bring some of these lessons to Out,” Artavia said. “I come from very humble beginnings. My father is an immigrant from Costa Rica, having moved to the United States at 17 and finessed his English while serving in the U.S. Marines. My mother worked several jobs while raising two kids. My sister and I were raised to understand that the pursuit toward justice and freedom and equality is never easy, but should be welcomed with grace, humility, knowledge, and strength.”
“I’ve worked closely with David for nearly a decade now on four magazines and five brands,” said Pride Media’s CEO Diane Anderson-Minshall, who also serves as editorial director of Out. “And as we look to the future of Out magazine and the role it plays in the lives of LGBTQ+ people—in print, digital, experiential, video, and social—I know David is the person we need leading it. He’s an exceptionally talented journalist of color who can tap into new audiences clamoring for a strong advocacy media brand, and while David is more known for hard-hitting investigations, his modern approach to storytelling and his immersion in art and culture, fashion, entertainment, and travel will serve him and our audience well at Out.”
