LOS ANGELES — Gay site Nightcharm.com has shifted to a PG approach.
Publisher David K. Mentor said, "There's a fatigue factor related to visitors being bombarded with hardcore images nowadays. It's taken the mystery and allure out of sex. Which makes it tougher to sell. Although our members area, the Inner Circle, continues to offer explicit feeds, I knew it was time to shift the visuals to up the mystery factor.
"From the bottom-line perspective this approach works for us regarding retention and repeat visitors. Our regulars stay on the site longer and are more likely to purchase a membership to Nightcharm's subscription area. Plus, the site now has SFW status, which allows all sorts of media outlets feel comfortable about linking to our editorial content."
Nightcharm's first big shift this year was bringing in Australian editor Mark Adnum to assume the editor's helm, a position previously held by John Calendo from Hustler and In Touch magazines.
"Mark has a strong intuitive feel for what's buzzing for gay men and their relationship to porn, sex, HIV, hooking-up, art, politics and showbiz," Mentor said. "He understands Nightcharm's legacy. Right out of the gate he snagged an interview with social critic Camille Paglia where she talked about art as pornography and pornography as art."