QueerAF bets on membership revenue to finance its mission to fix ‘broken’ LGBTQAI+ media

Credit: QueerAF

A new community interest company QueerAF wants to tackle the lack of representation of queer journalists in the UK media by offering them a platform and mentoring.

The company will use its close connections with editors and media business leaders to increase the number of queer voices in the media and properly cater to those who want to hear from them. So far, it has built an impressive list of founding members and supporters, from comedian Joe Lycett to managing director for Europe at Forbes Alex Wood or podcast host James Barr.

As the UK’s first queer publisher to go without advertising funding, its revenue model is based on members paying for its content that is otherwise free for the rest of the audience.

[Read more: How to report LGBT+ stories with confidence]

QueerAF founder, Jamie Wareham, said the idea for launching the outlet came after an editor told him to "stop pitching gay stories".

"He didn’t know if there was enough of an audience in it," says Wareham. "You get stuck in this gross cycle of journalism commissioned for clicks instead of because it counts. That’s a really sad state of affairs.

"Imagine if we can undo the damage in what that editor said to me and give people the opportunity to prove the gatekeeper wrong by creating an audience."

Each week, QueerAF will pay emerging creatives to write for its free newsletter. It will further help launch their careers with writing skills and editing sessions.

The exposure means that editors will be able to see what they write, explains Wareham, who hopes that QueerAF will become a place for writers to “carve their teeth” in the industry.

The publisher wants to make sure the audience - not simply audience figures - is at the centre of its content. Ultimately, it wants to become a destination for editors looking to commission and hire LGBTQAI+ writers.

QueerAF builds on the success of an award-winning podcast of the same name, which launched the careers of 17 audio producers and earned the organisation widespread acclaim.

[Read more: A guide to reporting on LGBTQ+ community]

"As I was growing up, seeing queer people on television was a lifeline for me and many others in understanding that there was nothing wrong with me," said Joe Lycett in a press release. To show how much he believes in the outlet, he became a lifetime member.

Founding member Alex Wood said: "LGBTQ media is broken. What’s really exciting about what [QueerAF] is doing is it’s completely rebuilding it from a different model, a different business model, a different way of operating.

"It fundamentally has the potential to not just shake up LGBTQ+ media, but other specialist media as well."

Wood explained that reporting on LGBTQ+ and queer issues often comes with fundamental misunderstandings, from the representation of queer identities to non-traditional, alternative families.

The growth of readers paying for their media means that unknown writers can be properly funded, Wood added. He expects QueerAF to bring in voices that have alternative, but equally valid viewpoints.

Speaking on the day Forbes’ LGBTQ+ internal allyship group was launched, he said that QueerAF has an opportunity to aid businesses to improve diversity, equity and inclusion. As media organisations affiliate themselves with QueerAF to tackle these issues, there will be more money to help its writers.

The hope is that it creates a ‘halo’ effect – as more writers are given a platform, more editors will look to commission more pieces from the LGBTQ+ community. Wood said that there will always be a place for queer media that is fluid and evolving.

"It’s about creating a safe space for those kinds of discussions."

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