LMA announces LGBTQ+ collaborative, Word Is Out, with Google Innovation Challenge funding

Posted Friday, November 19, 2021 8:50 am

Local Media Association

Local Media Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of Word Is Out: The Queer Media Collaborative, with initial funding from the Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge.

The Queer Media Collaborative (QMC) will focus on business sustainability and producing great journalism.

“We are so excited about this unique collaboration for LGBTQ+ media,” said Ebone Bell, owner and editor of Tagg Magazine. “This group of media has often been left out of national partnerships, and is new to the philanthropic side of journalism funding. This provides a great opportunity to uplift and transform legacy and new LGBTQ+ media.”

Word Is Out marks the sixth news industry collaboration incubated by LMA and LMF. The collaborative will build on the successful model of Word In Black, which is made up of 10 leading Black publishers in America. Word In Black also received funding from GNI.

Six publishers will participate at the outset:

Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco): Launched in 1971, this weekly newspaper is one of the oldest and a pioneer in LGBTQ+ media.
Dallas Voice: The premier media source for LGBTQ Texas, publishing every Friday since 1984.
Q Voice News (Los Angeles): This pioneering online publication created a new space in the L.A. media ecosystem. It is the only digital-first LGBTQ+ news outlet in the greater L.A. area.
Tagg Magazine (National): This award-winning and Black queer, woman-owned publication, founded in 2012, is committed to uplifting the voices of all LGBTQ+ women across the country. Tagg was created to serve “everything lesbian, queer and under the rainbow.”
Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.): This weekly publication is the oldest LGBTQ+ newspaper in the U.S. It was launched in 1969.
Windy City Times (Chicago): Founded in 1985, this legacy LGBTQ+ newspaper and website covers Chicago and its suburbs.

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LMA announces LGBTQ+ collaborative, Word Is Out, with Google Innovation Challenge funding

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