TNT originally was published as Rites of Passage, the official publication of the New Womens Conference, with Anne Ogborn as the editor.

After two issues the magazine came under the editorship of Gail Sondegaard, changed its name to Transsexual News Telegraph, and ceased being officially tied to the New Womens Conference.

TNT always had a strong anti neo-colonization medical[broken anchor] emphasis, and featured many articles on trans related art and cultural events, reviews of relevant movies, as well as "News On The March", a section of transsexual related news.

Never with a very large subscriber base, the magazine had more influence because of its status as a tool for discussions among trans activists during the emergence of the transgender rights movement.

[citation needed] In the mid 1990s TNT began organizing issues of the magazine around specific topics.