Xtra names Rachel Giese editorial director

TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - Pink Triangle Press, Canada's leading LGBT media organization and parent of Xtra (dailyxtra.com), announced today the appointment of Rachel Giese as Xtra's director of editorial, effective November 5, 2018. Giese will lead a team of journalists in Toronto and Vancouver, as announced today by the director of mission engagement, Ken Hickling.

"I am excited to have Rachel lead our journalism team as we continue to explore ways to carve out our unique space in the world of digital LGBTQ2+ media," said Hickling. "She will bring such incredible value to Xtra, given her skills as a writer and a leader of journalism teams at some of Canada's top, innovative organizations."

"I know firsthand Rachel's creativity and passion," said Pink Triangle Press executive director David Walberg. Giese began her career as Xtra's features editor in 1995, when Walberg was the paper's publisher and editor-in-chief. "Beyond those print days, her expertise across a wide array of media makes her a good fit as Xtra explores new tools to excel at storytelling and thought leadership."

"It's an incredible, thrilling opportunity to return to Xtra, both at this point in its history and at this moment in LGBTQ2+ culture and politics," says Rachel of her appointment. "I'm looking forward to helping build on the work that's already begun at Xtra in rethinking how it tells stories and reflects our lives and experiences, with video, personal essays, social media and events. I want Xtra's journalism and editorial content to be deeply informed by and engaged with our community."

An award-winning writer and editor in Toronto, Giese recently published her first book, Boys: What it Means to Become a Man (Patrick Crean Editions/HarperCollins Canada), which will be released in the U.S. later this year by Seal Press.

Giese writes a column on politics, pop culture and feminism for Chatelaine, where she has been editor-at-large for four years. She is a regular contributor to CBC Radio and is the host of the Doc Soup screening series at Hot Docs Cinema.

Giese was the deputy editor of The Grid, an internationally recognized newsweekly. Prior to that, she was a senior editor at The Walrus. She has taught feature writing at Ryerson University's School of Journalism, and her writing has appeared in Toronto Life, Flare, The Hairpin, Hazlitt, Real Life, the Globe and Mail and NewYorker.com.

"Xtra is undergoing a transformation," said Walberg. "As other media pick up the slack in covering LGBT issues, Xtra finds itself freed to hone in on the areas where we want to distinguish ourselves and have an impact. Rachel is an ideal choice to lead the evolution of Xtra's focus and identity."

Xtra online: (http://www.dailyxtra.com), (Facebook: dailyxtra), (youtube: dailyxtra), (twitter:@dailyxtra)

Click to tweet: Xtra announces Rachel Giese (@rachelagiese) as it's new Director of Editorial. Rachel will lead a team of journalists (for @dailyxtra) in Toronto and Vancouver. #Xtra #Gay, #Lesbian #Activism #LGBTQ2+

About Pink Triangle Press: (http://www.pinktrianglepress.com)

Pink Triangle Press (PTP) is Canada's leading LGBT media organization. Founded in 1971, Pink Triangle Press produces LGBT journalism at DailyXtra.com and through a variety of content distribution relationships in Canada and abroad. The Press operates the gay adult dating website Squirt.org and has produced a number of television projects, including the travel show Bump! and The Gayest Show Ever.

PTP's defining activity is LGBT journalism. Frustrated that there wasn't a voice representing the political and social concerns of gay men and lesbians, a group of Toronto activists launched the gay liberation newspaper, The Body Politic, in 1971. In 2008, The Body Politic was named by Masthead magazine as one of "Canada's 20 most influential magazines of all time."

Over four decades, PTP grew from a small grassroots operation to one of the most diversified LGBT multimedia enterprises in the world, with a roster of brands ranging from the Xtra publications in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, to online publishing and television production.

PTP is a mission-guided community organization without shareholders, governed by a board of directors. The board entrusts the achievement of our mission to the executive director, who heads a workforce located in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal.

The chronology of Pink Triangle Press is available here.

About Rachel Giese
Rachel Giese is an award-winning editor and writer. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Flare, The Hairpin, Real Life, Today's Parent, Flare and NewYorker.com. She was a senior editor at The Walrus, deputy editor of The Grid and acting editor-in-chief of enRoute. She's taught journalism at Ryerson University and at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. She's a frequent contributor to CBC Radio, where she's guest hosted Day 6, The Sunday Edition, Q and As It Happens. As Chatelaine's editor-at-large, she writes about politics, pop culture and feminism. She's the host of the monthly Doc Soup screening series at Hot Docs Cinema. Her first book, Boys: What it Means to Become a Man was published in Canada earlier this year (Patrick Crean Editions/HarperCollins Canada) and will be released in the U.S. in December (Seal Press). She lives in Toronto with her wife and her son.

Keywords
Rachel Giese, Pink Triangle Press, Director of Editorial, Xtra, DailyXtra.com, Gay, Lesbian, Activism, LGBT, LGBT+

SOURCE Xtra