LGBTQ Agenda: Report reveals challenges – and opportunities – for independent queer media

A new report shows the precarious state of the LGBTQ media industry, but also highlights new opportunities. “LGBTQ+ Media: A Critical Inflection Point” was released by the LGBTQ+ Media Mapping Project, an initiative of the Local Media Foundation and News Is Out.

During a September 15 webinar with News Is Out, a consortium of queer media organizations including the Bay Area Reporter, report co-author Tracy Baim went over key findings and what the publications can learn from them. Hanna Siemaszko led research and the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York partnered on the project.

The report was created with the financial support of the MacArthur Foundation. 

Baim, a lesbian and co-founder of the Windy City Times LGBTQ newspaper in Chicago, which is also part of News Is Out, painted a picture of an industry besieged by a changing media landscape and that’s seeing funding streams dry up amid economic uncertainty and the anti-diversity, equity and inclusion backlash that hit corporate advertisers hard in the past few years.

“This is what was shocking to me – how many operations are on a shoestring, and not just the locals,” Baim said during the webinar. “The nationals too – a significant portion of them were basically volunteer run.”

Indeed, 46.9% had budgets under $100,000. Baim said that they were “mostly owners with part-timers [employees] and freelancers,” though “if they’re lucky, they have a full-time staff.”

The B.A.R. is one of the lucky ones – with a full-time staff of six, plus freelance writers and photographers.)

“We’re participating because I believe we need to support this effort to quantify LGBTQ media,” said B.A.R. publisher Michael Yamashita, a gay man. “This is the first effort ever and at this time I think it’s very important for all of us to stand up together.”

Baim said in a phone interview that, “Bay Area Reporter is doing the right thing. They’ve adapted to new technology. Michael [Yamashita] in particular has been in many cohorts where there are lessons learned, and because of his vision, particularly going beyond the boundaries of San Francisco, he’s made the B.A.R. stronger.”

Baim said that while, “we did not individually analyze outlets against one another,” the B.A.R. has potential for a promising future.

“What I know about the B.A.R. and it’s incredible legacy and survival through perilous times, throughout 50 years, the B.A.R. is definitely among the strongest of the folks,” Baim said. “But none of us can do it alone. If there was one gay paper in the country, they wouldn’t last very long.” 

Dana Piccoli, a lesbian who is managing director for News Is Out, explained in a phone interview the importance of independent queer media.

“LGBTQ+ media has always written the first draft of our history, and who are we without our history?” Piccoli asked. “Queer media is a way of building community, it’s a way of fostering community, it’s a place we’ve been able to find respite even in our darkest times. We amplify the voices of each other and it’s always been the heartbeat of our LGBTQ+ community wherever we live.”

The report was based on survey results collected from 79 local and 23 national outlets, mostly in urban areas. These were mostly traditional media, such as newspapers, though some “new media” (i.e. digital only) and podcasts were included. 

Baim said, “It was really meant as a first step in a landscape report about where we are, not to be 100% comprehensive, but to get a better sense of LGBTQ media at this time. There’s certainly a lot of queer influencers and podcasts, and other types of things.”

Of the 83 respondents that answered how much of a percentage of their revenue is from advertising, 32, or almost 40%, reported that advertising was responsible for all of their revenue.

“Support from foundations is a minor part of most local LGBTQ+ media,” the report states.

“Reader revenue is also a small impact overall for the 34 who answered” stated a question about how much readers pay for the publications. Many LGBTQ publications, including the B.A.R. are free.

The report details how some advertisers have pulled back from supporting expressly LGBTQ-affiliated enterprises in recent years, even before Republican President Donald Trump returned to power in Washington in January.

“This is the case even though advertising itself has nothing to do with DEI; the backlash is just caused by fear among businesses,” the report states. “This conflating of two different decisions – a business decision based on the strength of a market segment vs. diversity, equity and inclusion in academic and employment policies – is a painful problem experienced firsthand by LGBTQ+, African American, and other media targeting specific communities.”

Media consumption patterns
As media consumption patterns change – a 2022 Statista survey showed only one-in-20 members of Gen Z read a newspaper daily, but over 50% use social media platforms daily to get their news – advertising has not been as sustainable a business model. Baim said legacy LGBTQ media companies should band together and make their pitch to foundations as to the essential services they provide to local communities.

“So many funders didn’t even know there was LGBTQ media, and that was across the country, and that there was local and not just national,” Baim said. “I think there are good people out there who want to help. We have to find out strategically who that might be. More than ever in the philanthropy world, there’s a combination of people interested in funding journalism that never funded journalism before. … Right now, in a three-to-four-year window of time, I think there’s potential for there to be at least some resources to significantly support increasingly, in fact-based journalism.”

And foundation funding can help journalists diversify their skill sets.

“We have to move fast with the changes in media or risk not being funded,” Baim said.

Jim Yarbrough, the publisher of QNotes, an LGBTQ newspaper in the Carolinas, said that that’s a race against capacity. Qnotes joined New is Out as an affiliate member this spring.

“We can get all the training in the world, but if we don’t have the capacity to execute, that is a huge roadblock,” he said. “It takes people, it takes resources, it takes money to implement these.”

Piccoli facilitated the discussion. She asked Baim about news deserts – those places where LGBTQ media just isn’t covering. Baim said the South and the Upper Midwest have significant gaps.

Further, “There are so many LGBTQ news deserts within a state that has LGBTQ media … it’s so hard to cover the whole state, [outlets] need resources to cover smaller counties,” Baim said.

And the Trump administration’s attitude toward negative media coverage could present a problem, too.

“I’m very concerned for all of us in this space,” Baim said. “There’s potential national legislation that would target reporters. … There are at least associations out there if you’re a member of to provide support.”

The report is available online.  

LGBTQ Agenda is an online column that appears weekly. Got a tip on queer news? Contact John Ferrannini at [email protected] .