For a long time, one of the biggest strengths of the media was not allowing its audience behind the scenes to see how it works. This is how mainstream titles built trust, allure and impact with their stories - by keeping it behind closed doors.
But times have changed, and that practice is now one of the reasons we can't trust everything we see online. If we don't know where information is coming from, whether a human or an AI has put it together, or whether it is from a source that is driven by ideology or evidence - how can we trust it?
That's why this week, after months of investigating and weeks of publishing our Gender Clinic Files, we're making the daring decision to make the data open source.
And we’re going one further. Our readers ask us all the time for insights on how you can be an activist too. It's why stories like that of the Bristol Safe Space campaign turned national movement are so popular.
And so, we've asked Claire Prosho, the researcher behind the series, to give you an insight into how they put in the mountain of FOIs that revealed the hard data behind what 48,000 people already know from experience.
At QueerAF, we believe in a very different kind of media. We're modelling that change, so we can show the rest of the media that it’s a change that is not only inherently valuable, but drives attention and revenue.
That's where we need you. Every member who signs up - from as little as £4 a month - to this newsletter, helps us in our meetings with mainstream media editors, industry leaders and policy makers.
Our members help us prove our model is not only working and delivering for our audience, but thriving.
Your monthly or annual support helps us reinvest in queer and Trans+ journalists to deliver you the information you need to fight back, while we train them up to take these ideals into newsrooms all over the country.
Please, if you can, upgrade today, and help us change the newsroom, to change the country.
Jamie Wareham
QueerAF Founder
Understand the LGBTQIA+ headlines and keep track of the latest queer content and perspectives. The QueerAF newsletter this week is written by Jamie Wareham, the top story by Clair Prosho and the Queer Gaze by Ella Osho.
💬 This week:
- The Gender Clinic Files: We make the data behind the series open source, and Claire Prosho brings you an insight into how we pulled it all together - and what we've learned.
- Cricket: The sport's managing body in England is facing court action over its ban on trans women taking part in the sport at any level. We explore what the case could consider.
- Black History Month: What can media learn from outlets for queer and black audiences like TENz? This week in the Queer Gaze, Ella Osho explores.
Skip the doomscrolling and support queer creatives instead. We are QueerAF – and so are you.
The Gender Clinic Files: How I discovered the waiting times for every gender clinic in the UK
TL;DR: The Gender Clinic Files investigation, in collaboration with QueerAF, What The Trans?! and Claire’s Trans Talks, has already garnered over half a million views on our own platforms, as well as garnered media coverage in multiple outlets, demonstrating the impact that community groups and media can achieve when working together. Now, the researcher behind the series reveals the data it was built on, making it open source and handing the information over for you to use.
Upgrade to read
Time to become QueerAF
Enter your email to read the full story and understand the LGBTQIA+ news every Saturday.
There’s a better way for the LGBTQIA+ community's stories to be seen, heard, and celebrated in the media. Join us to help rewrite the narrative and change the media for good.
Already have an account?
Sign in
