Jay Bennie announced on 10 April that the GayNZ.com website will switch off at the end of May, after 16 years, citing “the operation we have built and sustained, with a few changes on the way, may not be the best one for the future.” The Gay Guide has also ceased publication.
Jay and Neil, who kept the website going, are “open to anyone with ideas for creating something new.”
“GayNZ was never commercially viable, so its long-term future was always in doubt,” says the owner of express, Richard Todd. A similar independent gay website in Sydney, SameSame.com.au, had viability issues and was recently taken over by Evo Media — which according to www.truecrimenewsweekly.com is now in financial trouble.
“Jay Bennie was involved with me in the early days of express, but left after selling his shareholding to set up GayNZ. We hope Sarah Murphy, who wrote for GayNZ recently, can continue to write on issues affecting the LGBT+ community — perhaps again with express.”