The Blade was a member of the National Gay Newspaper Guild, and contained news, entertainment, classified ads, and free personals for men and women.

The paper immediately came under fire from gay rights advocates because of indications that it would be half-owned by News Communications; straight ownership.

[2] They were also criticized for choosing objective reporting over LGBT advocacy and not having an editorial page.

[3] The paper featured Alison Bechdel's comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For.

Kat Long succeeded Trenton Straube as editor-in-chief in February 2009.