QueerAF

QueerAF challenges the underrepresentation of LGBTQIA+ in the media and shifts media narratives by showcasing, sharing, and celebrating queer stories. Its mission is to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community in the media.

It all started in 2017 with the QueerAF podcast, created by digital content producer, audience developer, journalist, and founder Jamie Wareham.

After an editor told him to "stop pitching gay stories because there was no 'money or audience in them,'" he launched a podcast with funding from the National Student Pride. It also created a mentorship scheme to help mentees through the process of producing the episodes. For many of the participants, this was their first paid commission.

Four seasons later, the QueerAF podcast reached an international audience and won the British Podcast Awards in the category Acast Moment of the Year in 2020.

Using the revenue made through advertising, Wareham registered QueerAF as a Community Interest Company (CIC) to continue this work and ensure that no one would have to experience what he went through while finding his voice in the media. All the revenue produced by the organisation is reinvested in the community.

QueerAF commissions content that reflects its community and builds a solid, engaged audience through its ad-free weekly newsletter and independent platform.

In the QueerAF model, members' support is fundamental in helping creators, journalists, and producers get paid and commissioned. They are supporting a new generation of queer creatives to start their careers.

QueerAF is the first LGBTQIA+ publisher in the UK to be independently regulated. The organisation is regulated by IMPRESS, is an Independent Media Association member, and works with the LGBTQ+ Journalism Network.

Last updated: January 2023