LGBTQ media ‘excited’ about Press Forward national media funds
Members of News Is Out, a collaborative of six leading LGBTQ media organizations across the country, have expressed support and excitement about the newly announced national Press Forward effort to support local media in the United States.
News Is Out members represent more than 200 years of LGBTQ news and culture coverage, with two member papers starting more than 50 years ago. “This new effort from foundations, including MacArthur Foundation and Knight Foundation, truly will be a game-changer in the local media space,” said Tracy Baim, co-founder of Windy City Times, which is part of a Chicago collaborative that is also advocating for local funding in that city. “Local media are critical to covering issues across the country, from LGBTQ+ and environmental issues to education and criminal justice reform.
Philanthropy can provide an important complement to other needed revenues to help local media survive and thrive.” In the U.S., 7.1 percent of adults, or 18 million people, identify as LGBTQ, according to Gallup.
About 21 percent of Gen Z identifies as LGBTQ. The media serving this community has been life-saving, resource sharing and an integral part of the movement for LGBTQ equality, News Is Out members said, adding that this media continues to fill a vital information need.
