Last week the South Florida Gay News shutdown. This week a new newspaper is born from its ashes.

Welcome to Out South Florida.

Now more than ever we need a thriving independent LGBT press. There is a growing number of politicians and right-wing activists that wish to silence and erase us. We are facing an unprecedented assault on our culture, our liberty, and our freedom here in Florida, and around the country.

Out South Florida will be here to tell those stories. We will be the LGBT newspaper of record.

These may be our pages, but this paper is your voice. We will cover the joy and jubilation as well as the sadness and sorrows.

One of our jobs is to hold those in power accountable. Sometimes it isn’t pleasant – especially when one of those people are our friends, our neighbors, or our community leaders.

We can’t promise you’ll like every story. But we are committed to being fair and accurate.

The four tenets of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics are Seek Truth and Report It; Minimize Harm; Act Independently; and Be Accountable and Transparent.

We believe in those principles.

Last week when SFGN shuttered its doors some folks were gleeful in its demise. To those I say this: a free press is a cornerstone of democracy. We are a newspaper – not an echo chamber.

There will always be those who disagree with a particular story or angle. We will always welcome your criticism and feedback. 

I respect and admire news outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post, and so many others. But that doesn’t mean I agree with or like every story. Some I vehemently disagree with. For example the New York Times has recently come under fire from LGBT activists pushing it to cover the transgender community more fairly.

But that doesn’t mean I want the outlet to shut down.

Imagine if every outlet that produced a story you didn’t like was forced to close.

We hope you believe in the freedom of the press as much as we do. So how can you support us? Advertise. Donate. Subscribe to our newsletters. 

Follow us and share our stories on social media (@out_sfl on Twitter, @outsfl on Instagram and Facebook.com/OutSFL).

Welcome to Out South Florida. Thank you for reading.

Jason Parsley is the co-owner and publisher of OUTSFL. He served as the editor of the South Florida Gay News for 12 years. Follow him on Twitter @jeparsley and Instagram @parsleypastries.