Charles Ortleb - periodical - 1980-1997 - p. 195

Running from 1980 to 1997, New York Native was a semi-monthly gay newspaper and holds distinction as one of the few gay papers in New York City that consistently reported on the AIDS epidemic--indeed, in 1981, it published the first-ever news article on AIDS, which was then referred to as a “gay cancer.” Prominent AIDS activist Larry Kramer published a 1983 piece articulating the plight faced by the gay community and the complicity of such entities as the National Institute of Health, the Center for Disease Control, the federal government, New York City mayor Ed Koch, and various others who neglected to act sufficiently to study and combat the spread of the disease.

Despite New York Native’s pioneering advocacy for AIDS research and government involvement, the publication later took a turn toward conspiracy theory that resulted in the loss of many readers and, in combination with competition from The Village Voice, its eventual demise.  

Key elements: activism, homosexuality