In the late 1980s, activists Tonie Walsh and Catherine Glendon sought to establish a free LGBT publication. The National Gay Federation - now known as NXF - had previously published 2 unsuccessful LGBT periodicals, but agreed to establish an LGBT newspaper. GCN's first issue was published on 10 February 1988 as an 8-page tabloid newspaper. It has been published consistently each month, with one exception. GCN is owned and published by the National LGBT Federation, which is a voluntary organisation. GCN was originally funded by the Irish state during the economically difficult 1980s and early 1990s, a combination of a policy-driven scaling back of this funding and the improvement of Ireland's financial fortunes allowed it to become a commercial entity in 2003, although it still carries funding banners from the National Development Plan and Pobal. The editorial focus of GCN continues to be rights- and community-based. The magazine reports on political developments in Ireland and throughout the world, and is a key source of information for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in Ireland, providing them with details of all community, cultural and social events and initiatives. It is also the only publication in Ireland with regular coverage of developments for HIV positive people. GCN also has regular celebrity interviews, lifestyle features, film, book and music reviews and social columnists. It has 33,000 readers and is distributed across Ireland, north and south. Brian Finnegan was appointed editor of GCN in March 2003. He came to the publication to change it from a free political newspaper into a commercially viable magazine, without sacrificing the original ideals of the founding publishers. GCN's online presence began in 2000. The website was relaunched in January 2014, under the new name TheOutmost.com. It features constantly updated news and gossip stories, features, daily gay TV listings, daily scene and community listings, video, podcast and other downloadable content and bloggers.
