Publisher Joe Landry Flees BlackBook for Out and the Advocate

It's quitting time at Blackbook.

On the heels of the major departures of its managing editor and photo director, Blackbook has now lost its publisher, Joe Landry.

Mr. Landry is returning to his old stomping grounds and will become group publisher of both Out magazine and The Advocate, replacing Jay Adams, who was fired earlier this week. Mr. Landry worked with both Out and The Advocate for years before he ditched them for Blackbook two years ago.

"It's an opportunity to go back to the brand that I built," said Mr. Landry to Media Mob. "The new owners are very passionate about the brands that I bought."

"We’ve been bought by a company that primarily deals with television and film and therefore lacks some of the experience in publishing that Joe will bring to the company when he returns," said Aaron Hicklin, the editor of Out, in an interview. Last month, Out and The Advocate were purchased by Regent Publishing for the tiny sum of $6 million (five times less than what they were purchased for 2.5 years ago).

And so what in the world is happening at Blackbook? Within the last month, the magazine has lost both its managing editor, Una LaMarche, and its photo director, Shannon Hall.