The Publisher

News Magazines, Specialized Telephone Directories

Publications founded and published by Jeanne Cordova in chronological order:

  • TODOS SANTOS PHONE BOOK
    The town of Todos Santos’ telephone directory, 2003-2004, published in Mexico.
  • THE SPIRIT OF TODOS SANTOS
    English speaking magazine of arts and culture serving the town of Todos Santos in Baja California Sur, Mexico. 1997.
  • COMMUNITY YELLOW PAGES
    Southern California’s Gay and Lesbian Telephone Book
    Founder and Publisher, 1982- 1999
    The award-winning Community Yellow Pages is the oldest and largest (400 pages) gay telephone book in the world.
    Named among “America’s Fastest Growing Gay & Lesbian Owned Companies,” Victory Magazine, 1994.
    Dubbed “Best Local Directory in the U.S.A.” by National Gay & Lesbian Press Association, 1992.
  • SQUARE PEG MAGAZINE
    A queer literary and cultural monthly magazine. Published by Cordova Media Group, Los Angeles, California. 1992-1994.
  • THE NEW AGE TELEPHONE BOOK.
    Founder/Publisher. Featured profile in L.A. Times. 1987-1992
  • THE LESBIAN TIDE
    A national newsmagazine. Founder and Publisher, 1971-1980.
    .Hailed in its day as “the most journalisitically advanced lesbian publication in the USA.” (National Gay Task Force, Our Right to Love, 1978) Cordova Media Group called “pre-eminent voice of lesbian publishing.” (Unspeakable; This History of Gay Publications in the USA. Random House, 1995). Credited by lesbian historian Yolanda Retter, Ph.D. as “the newspaper of record for the national lesbian feminist community.”

See also, the following gay history books that review and comment on Cordova’s publications:

  • Unspeakable,The Rise of the Gay & Lesbian Press in America, by Roger Streitmatter, Faber & Faber, 1995. (Read review)
  • The Lesbian Periodicals Index, edited by Clare Potter. Naiad Press, 1986.
  • Our Right to Love, edited by Ginny Vida, published by the National Gay Task Force, 1975.

Commentary

My Publications Are My Children.

The Lesbian Tide, a national lesbian feminist magazine, that I founded in August 1971 and continued to publish until May of 1980, is my first born, and first loved. With regard to its impact on the lesbian community it is the most important achievement in my life. “The Tide” was one of the top three national voices of lesbian feminism during the 1970s. It helped shape and explain lesbian theory, issues, and news.
Secondly, I believe that my role as the visionary of three national lesbian conferences was significant. In addition to the concept, I played a core-organizing role (along with a committee of 5 or 6 others) in the formation of the 1971 West Coast Lesbian Conference held at MCC in Los Angeles, and The National Lesbian Conference held at UCLA, April 1973. Both of these conferences, particularly the one at UCLA were “firsts.” They helped birth Amazon Nation, the independent, modern day, lesbian movement.

I think the third most significant contribution I made I began in the summer of 1981. I founded and published the first gay telephone book in the United States, The Community Yellow Pages (of Southern California). This publication consolidated the economic clout of the Southern California gay and lesbian movement. It verified, legitimated and paginated the wealth, professionalism, and diversity of professional gays and lesbians and their consumer constituency. It made tens of thousands of gays and lesbian proud and gave us prominent political leverage. It printed 100,000 copies each year.