Kudos to Brian Montopoli and the Washington City Paper for criticizing the Washington Blade (“Blade Runners,” 4/12). Many people and publications shy away from criticizing such venerable gay and lesbian institutions for fear of being labeled homophobic, anti-gay, or self-loathing.

Since the sale of the Blade, I have noticed a significant change in it. Unfortunately, many of these changes are not good and dull the edge that the Blade once had. Not only does the Blade have an obligation to the D.C. community to report on relevant local issues, but it also has a unique position and opportunity in the nation’s capital to report on and disseminate information about the political goings-on at the national level concerning and affecting the lives of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities. It seems to be pissing away this opportunity. The current heads seem to opt for the easier, glossier, and more lucrative route of selling useless tripe that panders to the community in order to help us all figure out how to be better gays by buying the right car or decorating our houses a certain way.

Certainly, it continues to report on issues that are relevant and newsworthy to our community, but as the readership supposedly increases due to Rosie-type stories, the paper runs the risk of further compromising its journalistic integrity because it is no longer profitable.

Logan Circle