As it celebrates its 20th anniversary next year, PinkNews should celebrate a period that has seen significant progress for some LGBTQ+ people in the UK.
Instead, the future of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ website looks uncertain after multiple sexual misconduct allegations were made against Benjamin Cohen and Anthony James, the couple who run the site.
Founded in 2005 while Cohen was working as a technology reporter for Channel 4 News, the site has at times used its influence to bring positive change to LGBTQ+ life in the UK. It was part of the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage, and the media’s dogged coverage forced Stonewall to campaign on transgender issues at a time when the rights group refused to do so.
Its reputation as an authoritative voice for the LGBTQ+ community has attracted many high-profile supporters. Six former prime ministers, including Tony Blair, Theresa May and Boris Johnson, have written for the website. Richard Branson, David Cameron and Alex Salmond are among the winners of the publication’s annual awards.
Now the mood has turned sour. Last week, Downing Street called the allegations against Cohen and James, who was suspended from Bedfordshire Hospital, “very concerning” NHS Foundation Trust.
The possible collapse of an influential magazine that billed itself as a safe space for LGBTQ+ journalists has caused dismay and raised wider concerns about the state of queer media in the UK.
“It’s shocking to hear these allegations, especially for journalists working there. There aren’t many LGBTQ+ publications in the UK, especially ones with this kind of financial backing and influence,” said investigative journalist Finbarr Toesland .
Last year Tosland wrote a study commissioned by Birmingham City University’s Sir Lenny Henry Center for Media Diversity (LHC) which found LGBTQ+ journalists faced an increasingly hostile environment in the UK. 78% of respondents agreed that it was becoming increasingly dangerous to be an LGBTQ+ journalist in the UK.
“I was so surprised to hear about their experiences and how challenging they found them. There was the example of a journalist working in sports media. As they walked into a press conference, they overheard someone say: ‘That’s x The gay reporter at the publishing house. “There are examples of people feeling isolated and facing homophobic abuse because of their sexual orientation,” he said.
Internet abuse presents a special challenge. Toslan said some openly LGBTQ+ journalists were pigeonholed by their bosses and forced to report stories that made them targets on social media.
“If you want to do good reporting on LGBTQ+ issues, you need to make sure journalists can do that work safely. There must be structures in place to ensure journalists are protected and know they have the support of the publication.
PinkNews is one of a growing number of profitable digital outlets, and its upheaval comes as the broader LGBTQ+ media industry faces a downturn. Gay Star News is a UK-based website that focuses on reporting on global LGBTQ+ issues and has been offline since September last year. “Gay Times” will stop publishing print magazines in 2021 and shift to purely digital operations.
“Losing any large LGBTQ+ media organization is terrible. If you were a young queer journalist who wanted to work in LGBTQ+ media, or wanted to tell stories that you felt were urgent and vital, where would you do it? What? Those platforms aren’t available, especially if you’re just starting out,” Toesland said.
More broadly, digital media faces turbulent times. Some of the most prolific digital magazines of the 2010s, which produced work by women of color and non-binary people of color, have recently shuttered, including Vice.com, BuzzFeed News, and gal-dem.
Last year, more than 8,000 journalists were laid off in the UK, US and Canada. Black journalists spoke about the impact these closures have had on their workloads, editorial freedom and their ability to stay in the media and make a living.
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In an industry that has long held a hegemonic position, these outlets have given journalists from underrepresented backgrounds a long-missed platform to launch their careers. There are fears that without them, the industry will revert to its old ways.
“We are seeing, in the UK and globally, a large number of independent news and media organizations serving under-represented communities being forced to reduce operations or close entirely because the environment is too challenging,” said lecturer Suyin Haynes. He worked in journalism at St George’s School of Journalism, University of London, before closing in 2023, and was editorial director of gal-dem.
“Funding cuts, the instability of revenue models once thought to be foolproof, changes in audience consumption trends and the emergence of artificial intelligence” are all to blame, she said.
As a result, she said, the stories of underrepresented groups “go unnoticed.” For journalists who want to cover marginalized communities, there are increasingly fewer opportunities to do so.
“The shrinking space to tell these kinds of stories means it can be harder to get your foot in the door. For more experienced journalists, reduced resources mean it’s now harder to get commissioned pitches.
Some UK newsrooms have hired journalists who cover under-represented communities, but the challenge of retaining and hiring more entry-level journalists from under-represented groups remains. Despite the decline in digital media, Haynes remains optimistic about the future.
Younger generations are increasingly turning to independent content creators for news, which could allow a new generation of digital journalists to bypass traditional media and make a name for themselves on social media.
“What’s really encouraging is that the changing environment is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among journalists and storytellers from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Haynes said. “But this must be coupled with significant systemic change and support ”
On Tuesday, Cohen and James responded to the allegations against them. In a statement, the pair said they had “laid a criminal complaint to the police in relation to alleged criminal conduct against others”. [them] relating to these recent reports” in August. They added that they told the BBC that the allegations were “vehemently denied” when the broadcaster approached them with them, but due to the current stage of the police investigation they had been advised not to Leave a comment.