Talk of the town - gay editor Maer Roshan of Talk magazine - Brief Article - Interview

Openly gay editor Maer Roshan ascends from the barricades of the gay press to mainstream heaven at Talk magazine

No stranger to sensation, Maer Roshan is used to raising eyebrows. New York magazine's deputy editor until June, he was the mind behind controversial articles, such as a piece on "walkers" (gay men who escort society women) and one on trophy boys--the gay equivalent of trophy wives--among rich and powerful men. Indeed, his stories have provoked the ire of David Geffen, Andrew Tobias, and Diane von Furstenberg, to name a few.

In his new job as Talk magazine's editorial director, the 34-year-old Roshan will have lots of opportunities to get on with the eyebrow raising. "I'm currently negotiating a story on Kevin Spacey," Roshan says when asked to explain some of his daily duties. Spacey, of course, is the Oscar-winning actor who denounced Esquire in 1997 for suggesting he's gay. Roshan is the openly gay editor who denounced gay celebrities for publicly claiming they're straight.

Roshan's views were made memorably clear in March. At the end of his six years on New York's editorial staff, he oversaw the publication of the Gay Life Now issue, which he hoped would be his legacy. For the first time in its 30-year history, the magazine devoted its features entirely to lesbian and gay cosmopolitan concerns: an HIV morning-after pill, go-go boys, and, yes, Queer as Folk. What proved most newsworthy, however, was Roshan's trenchant essay on closeted gay celebrities. He complained about trying to find an ample representation of the city's gay population to pose for the cover. Most of the rich, the powerful, and the famous he asked simply said no.

Roshan wrote, "People are entitled to present themselves as they wish, to maximize their market value; I suppose they're even entitled to lie. But as a journalist, I'm tired of being expected to collude in their deception."

Consequently, many gays and lesbians will be curious to see how Roshan now balances his moral convictions with the imperatives of overseeing a celebrity-fueled monthly. Second in command only to cofounder and editor in chief Tina Brown, Roshan is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the magazine, which include assigning stories, hiring writers, and essentially fine-tuning Talk's voice. Is Roshan prepared to collude with closeted celebrities for the sake of selling magazines?

"There are only a handful of people that I know are gay but presenting themselves as straight," says Roshan from his new office in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, with photos of gossip columnist Cindy Adams and of his boyfriend gracing his shelf. "So I can only think of a few cases where it will be a problem. But I'm not going to do anything that I feel is morally and ethically uncomfortable. My position on these issues is clear. And Tina knew that when she hired me."

"Maer's a talented live wire with an original take on the American culture," Brown tells The Advocate. As to how Roshan's politics will affect her magazine's coverage of closeted celebrities, she says, "It's not a subject that has come up. We'll deal with it on a case-by-case basis."

Roshan says his focus at the magazine will be providing "a more youthful, forward, and energetic perspective." He describes general interest magazines like Vanity Fair as increasingly nostalgic, cautious, and given to maintaining the status quo. Not surprisingly, Roshan wants to shake things up.

"Talk is not just a celebrity magazine," he insists. "We also cover culture and politics. I'm in charge of focusing it a little bit. But that challenge is part of the excitement."

As a gay Iranian Jew, Roshan believes his outsider status makes him particularly suited to examining American culture. "I have always been curious about America, since I wasn't born here; it makes you examine the culture more critically," says Roshan, who received a degree in journalism and politics from New York University before holding jobs at Details and Interview and becoming editor in chief and founder of QW, New York City's rousing but now defunct gay weekly of the early 1990s. "And Talk will continue to cover the waterfront on all that's bubbling up in today's culture. Gay life is a part of that, but so is hip-hop. There are lots of worlds that occupy the cultural space we live in, and we'll devote attention to all of them."

And so where does the Kevin Spacey feature fit into all this? "I don't think that's going to happen," Roshan says in a follow-up interview, not wanting to elaborate. Whether to interpret that as Roshan's first victory or defeat, only future issues of Talk will tell.

Find more on Maer Roshan and links to related Internet sites at www.advocate.com

Bahr writes for The New York Times and Time Out New York.

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