Vital VOICE Magazine

Vital VOICE got its start following the shuttering of the venerable Lesbian and Gay News Telegraph (founded in 1981) in January 2000. Recognizing the importance of continuity in the St. Louis LGBT community, St. Louis Network, LLC's Pam Schneider approached News Telegraph co-founder and editor Jim Thomas about coming on board a new media venture and in June 2000 Vital VOICE newspaper was launched at PrideFest. Over the next nine years Schneider raised the bar for LGBT journalism in St. Louis with the help of long-time editor, Nancy Larson. This was never more evident than in 2004 when nine of the Democratic presidential candidates, including nominee Sen. John Kerry, granted exclusive interviews to the publication. In late 2009, Schneider sold the Vital VOICE brand to St. Louis style guru and fashion editor, Darin Slyman who immediately shut down production and hunkered down with Senior Writer and now Editor, Colin Murphy and Office Manager, Tess Tulley to re-brand the longtime publication into something St. Louis had never seen before. The re-brand included moving hard news to a newly redesigned website, relaunching the print edition in a life/style magazine format and the embrace of social media. Vital VOICE offers an array of features, columns, color stories and photography along with hard news and is today's omnimedia publication and information source serving and celebrating the St. Louis and Midwest LGBT community.