"The New York Times" January 24, 1994, Monday, Late Edition - Final Section D; Page 8; Column 3; Financial Desk "Time Inc. Considers Starting a Magazine for Gay Readers" By DEIRDRE CARMODY Time Inc. Ventures, the division of Time Inc. that develops new magazines, is looking into the possibility of starting a publication aimed at gay and lesbian readers. The concept was brought to the division by Maer Roshan, the former editor in chief of the short-lived QW, a magazine for gay men and lesbians that closed in late 1992 after its principal backer died of AIDS. The proposed magazine would include news, features and profiles, and would aim to encompass the spectrum of gay political opinion. Time Inc. officials emphasized that the idea is among five or six magazine proposals considered by the division at any given time and that most ideas do not make it into print. Still, the fact that a leading publishing company is seriously considering a gay publication shows the growth and potential financial strength of the category. "It is a project that has come before us and we are intrigued with the idea," Robert L. Miller, president of Time Inc. Ventures, said. "We continue to analyze it and anticipate making a decision in the next two months as to whether it is a project we would want to involve ourselves with." Planning a Prototype People familiar with the proposed magazine say Time Inc. Ventures has provided $25,000 in seed money as well as management expertise to help develop a prototype. David H. Steward, general manager of Martha Stewart Living -- a magazine that came into being through the division -- is said to be working on a business plan. If the project receives the green light, a test issue would appear on newsstands this summer or early fall. Time Inc. Ventures would probably also conduct a small direct-mail test. "I think it's great that somebody like Time Warner is acknowledging the strength of this consumer segment," said Stephanie Blackwood, associate publisher of The Advocate, the leading news magazine for the gay market. "What I keep envisioning is the power of the Time Warner sales force to present the gay and lesbian market to advertisers who have been very receptive to the idea of gay and lesbian consumers but very fearful of backlash." Still unknown, of course, is the impact of a Time Inc. publication on existing magazines for gay men and lesbians. Among the magazines started in the last three years are Genre, Out, Ten Percent, Deneuve, Victory, Our World and Frontiers. The oldest of the publications is the 26-year-old Advocate. Roberta Garfinkle, senior vice president and director of print media for McCann-Erickson Worldwide, the advertising agency, said a magazine owned by Time Inc. would appeal to advertisers because the resources of a leading publisher would be behind it. But she said the real question about any magazine directed at a specific audience was, "What are you going to do that is different, timely and different from what other magazines are providing?" Mr. Roshan, who is 26, declined to comment on his proposed magazine. But colleagues say he has likened it to a gay New Republic and a gay Rolling Stone. He is apparently also aiming at a crossover audience -- readers who are not gay but might find the magazine interesting. Friends of Mr. Roshan say he wants to include provocative articles that some gay publications may find too discomforting. These might include pieces like the one Mr. Roshan ran in QW about increasing numbers of gay men having unsafe sex again. "It will not be an outing magazine," a person familiar with the project said. "It will have mainstream journalistic standards with a gay sensibility."