Independent Pink Power List

TOPICS: Mainstream media news. New UK media reporting on gay entertainment, gay PR and gay marketing news developments. US. Out magazine. Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper outed as gay. UK gay media market. Independent on Sunday. The annual Pink List covers the UK market to identify the top 100 Pink power players in the UK gay community.

You are at the Out Now Gay Market News -- Gay Marketing 101 gay market updates site. |||| To reach our main site on lesbian and gay market research, gay advertising and gay marketing strategies, visit OutNowConsulting.com.

To contact Out Now, send us an email.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When I was in London last weekend, I picked up a copy of the latest Independent on Sunday annual Pink List.

Following hot on the heels of last month's Out magazine article on the 'Glass Closet' that outed Anderson Cooper and Jodie Foster as gay celebrities.

The Independent on Sunday article has followed a similar skew, with gay entertainment and media celebrities making up much of the list. As we commented recently it is still easier for gay people to be out of the closet in certain industries and not others.

The increased profile of lesbian and gay community members is something we have spoken at length on before at Gay Market News. It is a symbol of the growth in visibility and acceptance of lesbians and gay men as valuable members of modern society.

Here is an extract from the Independent On Sunday 2007 Pink List:

The pink list 2007: The IoS annual celebration of the great and the gay

They are out and they are proud, and their success is key to British life. Among them are actors, authors and, yes, even business people too

Published: 06 May 2007
Last year, when The Independent on Sunday was putting together its annual Pink List, the by then regular phone call was made to a FTSE 100 office in the City. "We are compiling a list of the most influential gay people in Britain," said the researcher. "Is the chief executive willing to appear?" On the other end of the line, there was a sharp intake of breath, and a pause. "'I don't what you are suggesting, but it is not in the least appropriate that his name is associated with that article," said the PA. You've guessed it: the office was that of BP, and the chief executive was Lord Browne.

We may never know why John Browne lied about his sexuality. But this year's Pink List, brought forward because of his untimely departure from BP, shows that fewer people find it necessary to conceal theirs. The list has 28 new entries, some who appear for the first time because they have risen in prominence, others because they have recently "come out". All those included are celebrated; some work tirelessly, without often being publicly congratulated.

The negotiations about whom to leave off were many and animated. Gay men and lesbians still have discrimination to fight in the boardroom, the courtroom and the classroom. But this is as a good a time as any time to mark the progress made, and we thank all who appear here.

1. (18) Russell T Davies, Screenwriter

They said Doctor Who could never be revived but Davies made it witty, sexy, slick and scary - and made Saturday evening telly compulsory again. He made his name with the ground-breaking Channel 4 drama Queer As Folk, but proof that the 44-year-old has taken over the mainstream came when he was named Industry Player of the Year at the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Populist and clever, this genius was the overwhelming choice of our panel.

2. (23) Stephen Fry, Television Host, Actor, Author

In 2006 he was the public's ninth greatest star and the BBC's sixth greatest living icon. He has won plaudits for his work on mental health issues and is the most intelligent man in the world, according to readers of the Radio Times.

3. (02) Sir Elton John, Musician

Celebrated his 60th birthday before a star-studded audience at Madison Square Garden. His Elton John Aids Foundation, which he runs with his partner David Furnish, has become one of the word's most celebrated charities. Will play that song again at the Diana memorial concert at Wembley in July.

4. (03) Henry Badenhorst, Founder and owner of gaydar.co.uk

Badenhorst, 40, formed Gaydar, with partner Gary Frish, in 1999. It has become the world's biggest online dating site, with more than four million subscribers. A new social networking site, Gaydar Nation, is due to go live soon. The Gaydar radio station won best digital radio station at the Sony awards.

5. (01) Sir Ian Mckellen, Actor

Serena - as he is affectionately nicknamed - is currently appearing nude in his portrayal of King Lear at the Courtyard Theatre. He revels in an eclectic mix of roles, from blockbusters, to the stage to Coronation Street.

6. (05) Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner

He is a self-proclaimed fighter rather than quitter, but he has got in there first by saying he will seek another five-year term in Brussels.

7. (26) Spencer Livermore, Political Adviser

Lauded as brilliant, this 31-year-old adviser is a much trusted policy confidant of Gordon Brown, and is virtually assured of a key position at No 10 within two months.

8. (09) Matt Lucas, Comedian

A good year for Lucas. He tied the knot with partner Kevin McGee; Little Britain has done well abroad; and he is working on material for US channel HBOS with David Walliams.

9. (07) John Galliano, Fashion Designer

Currently fighting a court ruling in Paris that he plagiarised the work of American photographer William Klein in an advertising campaign. But his outlandish shows for Christian Dior and for his own label mean he remains our foremost fashion designer.

10. (08) Alan Bennett, Playwright and Author

It's 24 years since Bennett was awarded his first Tony, for Beyond the Fringe. Last year saw him awarded another six for his play The History Boys, directed by Nicholas Hytner who brought it to the big screen this year. The latest collection of his assorted writings, Untold Stories, was a huge best-seller.

11. (36) Graham Norton, Television Host

One of the most influential gay men in light entertainment via his chat shows and as frontman to prime-time Saturday night show Strictly Dance Fever.

12. (06) Sir Michael Bishop, Chairman, BMI

Over more than 40 years, he has made bmi a major player in the short-haul airline business.

13. (16) Alan Hollinghurst, Author

Suave, mahogany-voiced Hollinghurst, long-time deputy editor of the Times Literary Supplement, won the 2004 Booker Prize for his third novel The Line of Beauty, a masterly evocation of the Thatcherite 1980s, in which gay sex and the threat of Aids was just one of a number of components; it was adapted, successfully, by the BBC for television last year.

14. (22) David Starkey, Historian

Starkey apparently enjoys his status as Britain's Rudest Man, since it helps him to remain Britain's highest paid TV presenter. Now officially the man who knows more about the Tudors than anyone else, his million-pound deal with Channel 4 will bring him before his adoring public for a good while yet. A prominent campaigner for gay rights.

15. (NEW) Rabbi Lionel Blue, Author, Commentator

With his mellifluous tones, Blue, 77, has a place in the nation's affections that grows larger with each passing year. Britain's first openly gay rabbi is a regular on BBC Radio 4's Today programme Thought for the Day slot.

16. (04) Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Impresario

He owns homes in London, Somerset and Malta and is responsible for a host of productions, including Les Misérables and Mary Poppins.

17. (NEW) John Barrowman, Actor

Born in Glasgow, 40-year-old Barrowman stars in Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. He kissed the doctor last time around, an intergalactic first for mainstream telly.

18. (85) Sandi Toksvig, Broadcaster and Writer

This stalwart on radio shows such as I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue and Excess Baggage is one of the most popular voices in middle England. The 49-year-old was dropped from Save the Children when she came out, but protests led the charity to take her back again.

19. (12) Nicholas Hytner, Artistic Director, Royal National Theatre

Has a reputation of making critical statements about art policy, and has been a vocal critic of cuts in arts funding to prop up the Olympics budget. He directed The History Boys on screen and recently renewed his partnership with Boyett Ostar Productions which presents National Theatre productions on Broadway.

20. (NEW) Greg Barker MP

An FOD (Friend of Dave), Barker was one of the first to persuade Cameron to run for the leadership. Was embroiled in a farrago about leaving his wife for a (male) interior designer, but has now confirmed he is gay. Tories still support him. Worked in the City for nearly 10 years before moving into PR in 1997. Now a shadow environment minister.

To better understand what matters in gay marketing, contact Out Now.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further gay marketing information, or to seek gay market advice, please contact: Ian Johnson, MD, Out Now Consulting
UK landline: +44-20-8123 5288 BE landline: +32-2-514 6443
mobile: +32-4737 60886
web: OutNowConsulting.com
news: Gay Market News - Gay Market Updates by Out Now

Gay PR. Global gay PR marketing, gay PR strategy, PR, training, gay advertising, lesbian and gay market research leaders.
Gay Market News is Gay Marketing 101 - The Out Now Gay PR Market Updates.
OutNowConsulting.com |||| GayMarketing101.com |||| Companies marketing & advertising to gays and lesbians. |||| Better understanding of the lesbian and gay consumer market. Gay market insight is Out Now.

gay market gay advertising gay marketing gay tourism gay travel pink dollar pink pound gay agency advertising marketing travel tourism gay lesbian gay and lesbian market research