Looking Toward AE's Future

Hey folks, by now you've probably heard that Michael Jensen is no longer with AfterElton.

He will be sorely missed by me and the rest of the staff, as I'm sure he will be by you guys. But it's not all doom and gloom!

For starters I'm happy to announce that, rather than acting as interim editor, I have accepted the permanent position. I've been working on the site almost from the beginning, the last few years as managing editor. Like Michael, I sort of feel like AfterElton is my baby, and I'm committed to keeping it thriving.

Fortunately, so many of the great voices that make this site exceptional are still here and will continue working alongside me. That means longtime AE readers can expect to continue seeing Ed Kennedy's Morning Meme, snicks' Briefs, Lyle's TV on Tap, Christie Keith's brilliant Glee recaps, Langford on Soaps and a whole host of our best AE features and writers. And we'll still cover entertainment news with a gay slant, as we've always done.

In the short term we might have to pull back a little on the amount of content we post every day as we're a little short-staffed right now. But we're already actively looking to hire a full-time entertainment reporter, and the site should be back to full capacity once the new guy is up and running.

It is true the site is due for a few changes. We're already talking with our web developers at Logo about investing in new features for the site, features to make it easier to navigate, post comments, participate in the user forums, etc.

We're also looking at a makeover for our site's design. (Those who have never been keen on the gray hexagon background can rejoice!)

I just wanted to mention these things to assure our regular readers that AfterElton.com is definitely not going anywhere. Honestly, the outlook is bright!

We're sticking around, and we're going to be bigger than ever, thanks in no small part to our shockingly good online community. No surprise, but that's actually our biggest asset. I mean, compare our comment sections with practically any other entertainment news site. Where else on the web can you find such civil and intelligent discourse? You can't. You guys are funny and kind and smart, and I am so grateful to know you.

I hope you'll stick with us. I also hope you'll continue giving us guidance on what you'd like to see covered on AfterElton. We are always looking for news tips, topics for articles, ideas for features, etc. Honestly, with Michael gone I need that now more than ever. So if you have any suggestions please let me know.

And hey, at the moment I'm also looking for an intern or two who might be interested in exploring the wonderful world of blogging. Ideal candidates would be good writers with a sense of humor, who also have some Photoshop experience and a basic understanding of HTML. (This particular combination of skills/talents is hard to come by, which is why I'm so lucky to have Ed, snicks and Lyle on staff.)

If you have an interest, please drop me a line. You can reach me at editorafterelton@gmail.com

Hope to hear from you!

Dennis Ayers
Editor, AfterElton