‘The Star Observer’, the LGBT magazine published on the east coast of Australia, is facing an uncertain future. Last week the magazine launched a crowd source fundraising campaign to raise a much needed cash injection of $75,000 to ensure its ongoing viability.
Today in ‘The Guardian’ Harley Dennett asked if pink media is dead. Citing the rise of mobile phones and online services, the closing of Sydney’s nightclubs, and the rollback of public health campaigns by conservative governments, Dennett accurately identifies the changing business landscape that queer media, and free street press operate in.
Is pink media dead though? Far from it.
Today LGBTIQ publications have the largest audiences they’ve ever seen. With teenagers proudly and confidently announcing their sexuality at younger ages, and the first generation of out and proud retirees picking up their gold watches, we’ve never been blessed with such a large demographic.
Our audience has also moved away from the inner city locations. Today when a kid announces they’re gay they are more likely to be embraced and told to get on with their homework, than be tossed out on the front lawn with their belongings. This means that queer publications have to work out ways to make their product available in Rockingham and Armadale as much as it is available in Northbridge and Fremantle.
With this change in audience it is essential that queer media evolves and changes. Today at OUTinPerth we deliver a far greater amount of content online than we do in print, our monthly magazine however is getting picked up faster than any previous time, and available at more locations than any other point in our history.
It’s a tough time in the media industry, whether you’re a mainstream daily newspaper or free street press, there is no denying that a great amount of belt tightening has been required in recent years. Queer media, like all media is changing and finding new business models and new income streams to support important journalistic work.
Creatively all media has to find engaging ways to tells stories and reach a fragmented audience. At OUTinPerth we’ve interviewed celebrities by Twitter – allowing readers to join in, opened our editorial meetings up to our readers via Google+ Hangout and even interviewed someone via Snapchat. Our motto is to always be looking for new ways to do things. You’ll find us in print, online, in person and on a host of social media platforms.
While marriage equality is the dominating issue, there are many lively topics that queer media is still at the forefront of tackling. These include the challenges faced by older community members, respecting and acknowledging rights of transgender people, the effect of religious education and organisations on LGBTIQ youth, parenting rights and ongoing discrimination.
While we wish our colleagues at the Star Observer a bright and healthy future, assumptions that the pink media sector is about to disappear are premature. As the famous writer Mark Twain once observed, “Reports of my death are an exaggeration.”
Graeme Watson
editor@outinperth 0402 549 811
Graeme Watson is the Editor of OUTinPerth. Issue 159 of the monthly magazine will be released on Friday September 5th. Alongside OUTinPerth our company also published Q-Pages the LGBTIQ Business Directory. Â
