Same Same 25 - Meet The Judges

Feature, By Christian Taylor, 4th September, 2007

The inaugural Same Same 25 is under way and the nominations are flooding in. If you’re yet to throw in your two cents, you’ve got one week left to nominate. We want this list to be truly representative of what’s going on out there, and in order for that to happen we need to hear from you.

Already we’ve had hundreds of nominations – culling these down to the 25 most influential gay and lesbian Australians is not going to be easy. Of the names we have so far, many of them are names you’d expect to find – but we’ve also uncovered many from behind-the-scenes, people who are quietly toiling away, making a difference.

So, who will be wading through the names? Who will be agonising and arguing around the table? The judging panel has been drawn from a wide cross-section of the community, representing a broad field of influence and experience in their chosen professions.

Andrew Mercado is a TV Writer, Presenter and Author. He’s one of Australia’s best-loved and busiest media commentators on all things pop culture. He writes a weekly TV column for The Sunday Telegraph, Australia’s biggest selling newspaper. On television, he is the movies man on Mornings With Kerri-Anne. He’s also is a regular on radio with Triple M and ABC Drive with Richard Glover.

When it comes to mega gay icons, Andrew’s interviewed them all over the years – including Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston, Alanis Morissette, Village People, K D Lang, Marianne Faithfull, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, Fleetwood Mac, Cameron Diaz, Tom Cruise, Deborah Harry, Joan Rivers and Jackie Collins. Now that’s quite an amazing list.

“It’s a real honour to be involved with the Same Same 25,” says Andrew. “I think it’s really important to have positive gay role models out there. It’s also important for straight people to see gay people excelling in their fields. And of course, it’s great for young gay people out there to have something to aspire to.”

Kevin Golding has been integrally involved in gay and lesbian community organisations from the early 80s, helping to establish Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Sydney Star Observer, DIVA Awards and The Aurora Group. Kevin also worked at ACON from 1988 to 1998 when ACON grew from $400,000 turnover and 12 staff, to $7 million turnover & 130 staff state-wide. Now that’s quite a leap. In 2002 Kevin was awarded by Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association for outstanding contribution to Sydney’s gay and lesbian community.

Silke Bader was born and raised in Stuttgart, Germany and immigrated to Australia in 1989. She acquired Avalon Media in 1999 and grew the company and its flagship magazine LOTL from a local urban newsletter to a nationally distributed professional monthly profitable publication. Her vision is to take LOTL international, and make it the premier international lesbian focused publication worldwide.

Joining them around the table will be Sally Horrobin – a journalist with the Sydney Star Observer , as well as David Wilkins, also known as Dot Dingle, from ACON.

Libby Clark is one of the three founding partners of the Sound Alliance – the publisher of web communities Same Same, inthemix.com.au and FasterLouder.com.au. Combined, these three sites make Sound Alliance the largest independent online entertainment publisher in Australia. Libby’s no stranger to making tough decisions – through the recruitment of the Sound Alliance team she’s been responsible for building a national editorial network of over 4,000 dedicated contributors, as well as a 35 strong full-time staff roster. As the resident ‘straighty-one-eighty’, Libby brings an important external perspective to the mix.

And from the Same Same camp – Same Same co-founder Tim Duggan, as well as Same Same’s National Editor, Christian Taylor.

“The judges are a really integral part of the whole Same Same 25 process,” says Tim. “They are trusted with sifting through the huge number of nominations coming in from all over the country, and debating the merits of each before we arrive at the final 25. It’s going to be a truly fascinating process and all the judges can’t wait to sink their teeth into it.”

You’ve got until Wednesday September 12 to get your nominations in. The Same Same 25 will be announced at a red carpet cocktail event in Sydney in October, after which the Australian public will then be invited to vote for who they think is Australia’s most influential gay or lesbian for 2007.

So, what are you waiting for? Nominate now.

Pics – Andrew Mercado, Kevin Golding, Silke Bader, Libby Clark.

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