Norm Kent Gives South Florida the Area's Leading Gay Newspaper

After 25 years as a successful criminal defense lawyer, Norm Kent's life took an unexpected turn – a year of chemotherapy following a bout with lymphoma, some three years ago.

Since then, the driving force behind The Express, South Florida's leading gay and lesbian community newspaper, Kent, the lawyer cum publisher, radio talk show host, and almost cancer survivor ("They tell me you're not a survivor of cancer until you're out five years"), has, not surprisingly, a renewed approach to life and work.

"I spent a quarter century in a law practice where I took on significant cases, and made important case law," says Kent. "But I came out of cancer saying I wanted to do something that would live on long after I was gone. My goal was to give life and breath to our community."

Kent's inspiration for The Express came right from existing gay publications, where a need was readily apparent to the publisher.

"The bar guides just showed people with their shirts off – they didn't give an accurate portrayal of our lives or our neighborhood, one of the most significant gay neighborhoods in the country."

Name: Norm Kent

Business: The Express Florida's leading gay and lesbian community newspaper.

Nature of Business: Weekly Community Newspaper.

Where: Greater Fort Lauderdale and Southern Florida

How long in business: Three Years. Founded it in Dec., 1999.

Number of employees: 13.

Best personal attribute for business: Keeping my inner core focused; having a good spiritual foundation. If you are smashing the state, keep a song in your heart and a smile on your lips.

Most difficult life lesson? That they don't make cherry flavored chemotherapy.

How has being GLBT affected being in the business world? We have shown the straight community the value of the gay dollar, and how what matters is business, not bedrooms. I've always felt, if you want a helping hand, there's one at the end of your own arm.

What's gay about your business: Supervising the publishing of a weekly gay newspaper in South Florida.

Role technology plays in your business? We are here because of technology, the Internet and computers. In fact, but for the technology I wouldn't have been able to start the newspaper – and we take advantage of each new methodology to advance our operation. We use the Internet to access HIV news from the Centers for Disease Control, rely on user groups that feed us stories locally and nationally. I can take a trip to Seattle and they can PDF me the file, or view the work of a graphic artist in New Jersey. We have an email list, that goes out to 8,000 people even before paper is printed. We can entice our readers, just like the TV, with breaking news.

Where will you be in five years?: I take life day by day, consider each dawn precious, and go where the day may take you. In five years, I hope to be working hard, and celebrating the 8th anniversary of the Express.

Best thing about your job: The opportunity to publicize and promote the achievements and accomplishments of a diverse gay community that shows we are a part of society and not apart from it. I get satisfaction each week when an issue is published and hits the streets.

Worst thing about your job: Like most businesses, it requires forms, finances, and administrative responsibilities that drain your time and energies in a negative way. You have to trust that you hired the right people and let them do their job.

Favorite geek device you couldn't live without: Cell phone and pager. With three offices, I give out my cell phone a lot, so people can track me.

Are you happy: Yes, each and every day, especially during the major league baseball season and when I am spending time with my German shepherds.

What do you wear on casual Friday? I now wear a shirt and tie every day because I choose to – not because I have to.