A former weekly newspaper editor who lost her job in a series of cutbacks is launching Britain’s first paid-for gay wedding magazine.

Until last Christmas, Sue Briggs was editor of the Knutsford Guardian, but she was made redundant in December as part of a cost-cutting exercise by publisher Newsquest North West.

Now she is aiming to bounce back as editor of Tickled Pink, which will be launched in Manchester on October 1.

The new 200-page magazine, believed to be the first such publication in its field, is packed with interviews and advertisers who, in Sue’s words, “want to spoil gay couples on their big day.”

“I never thought being gay would prove to be my saving grace,” said Sue who tied the knot with partner Caroline Harris in December 2006.

“When I was growing up, being gay was something to be deeply ashamed of, certainly not something to be celebrated.”

Sue took redundancy from Newsquest after 15 years in December, saying the company’s decision to close the Knutsford office and cut the reporting team from three to one was “a step too far.”

During her time as editor, she and her small team took sales of the newspaper from an all-time low of 4,500 to a record high of 7,500.

Tickled Pink, which is due to go on sale at £4.50, features interviews with jazz singer Clare Teal and eighties gay icon Hazell Dean, and also couples who have already celebrated their civil partnerships.

It will be launched at Via in Manchester’s Canal Street on October 1 and will be stocked at Borders’ stores in Cheshire, Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire among others.

Comments

Onlooker (11/09/2009 11:32:54)
The whole, dubious gay-is-great philosophy pushed by left-wing groups and causes can be a major pain in the a**e at times. However, I think I might well be tickled pink by this one. Stable relationships of any sort are to be welcomed in this day and age. Good luck, Sue.

Chris Youett (14/09/2009 10:14:28)
Well done to Sue for being one of the first editors to publically recognise how important the pink market is. Our Peter had loads of smellt stuff thrown at him by the rest of the record industry when he first starting producing records for the gay market. Now whose laughing! This is another market the current media owners have long ignored. If they understood marketing, advertising volumes wouldn’t be dropping so quickly.