EXTRA EXTRA: Building Community Through Media and Authenticity with V Spehar

Unpacking LGBTQ+ Youth Challenges and Threats to Queer Media Representation

LGBTQ+ youth continue to face a myriad of challenges in living their authentic lives. What are some of the latest challenges being covered out there? Representation of LGBTQ+ characters in film and TV is under fire yet again; what is the FCC trying to do now? Plus: corporate support at Pride. How do Americans really feel about brands getting in on the Pride action? This week’s roundtable: * Investigative journalist and lead designer at Uncloseted Media [https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/], Sam Donndelinger * Senior Director of local news for the U.S. South for GLAAD [https://glaad.org/], Darian Aaron It  is the Buckeye Flame’s 6th birthday and we are celebrating all month. We need your support to keep the Buckeye Flame burning bright, so become a recurring donor to our scrappy queer nonprofit newsroom and it will support our journalism, which includes This News is So Gay. To donate, go  to thebuckeyeflame.com [http://thebuckeyeflame.com] Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online: Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/ [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/ [https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com [https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com] Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Examining Broadcast Coverage of LGBTQ+ Issues and Where It Falls Short

This week, we’re covering highlights from a recent report on 2025 weekday evening news coverage of LGBTQ issues; including how trans and gender-nonconforming people were rarely featured in the coverage. While Pride Month has us celebrating in the present, it’s important to take a look back to  history. This week’s roundtable: * Deputy Research Director for Special Projects and former LGBTQ program director at Media Matters [https://www.mediamatters.org/], Brennan Suen * Writer, editor, fact checker, and former senior politics editor at The Advocate [https://www.advocate.com/], Trudy Ring Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online: Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/ [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/ [https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com [https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com] Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Navigating Pride Month as a Queer Journalist and Previewing Upcoming LGBTQ+ Films

It’s Pride Month with events aplenty! How does that affect the life of queer journalists? GLAAD released their Social Media Safety Index & Platform Scorecard – is there good news to be found there? And it’s not just Pride Month – it’s also summer! What queer culture content should you be watching and reading this summer? This week’s roundtable: * Managing director and editor of News is Out [https://newsisout.com/], Dana Piccoli * Host of The Gaily Show [https://www.am950radio.com/category/podcasts/gaily/], John Parker Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online: Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/ [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/ [https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com [https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com] Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Investigating the Sudden Disappearance of LGBTQ+ Public Health Information

There was some very helpful LGBTQ+ public health information online provided by the CDC – and now it’s gone. Why has it disappeared? Plus, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation continues to be introduced with mixed results all over the country – what’s the latest you need to know? And of course, where are we finding queer joy in the news right now? This week’s guest is Christopher Wiggins, politics and news editor at The Advocate [https://www.advocate.com/], leading national coverage at the intersection of public policy, politics, and LGBTQ+ lives. Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online: Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/ [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/ [https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com [https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com] Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

EXTRA EXTRA: Building Community Through Media and Authenticity with V Spehar

Extra Extra is an opportunity to hear more from the individuals who have helped define our field and continue to shape possibilities for the LGBTQ+ media landscape. V is the creator and host of Under the Desk News [https://www.instagram.com/underthedesknews/], with recognitions that include everything from the Time 100 list to the Outstanding Independent Journalism Award from GLAAD. V shares their journey from culinary arts to becoming a prominent LGBTQ+ journalist and content creator. They discuss how their authentic storytelling approach came to be, along with the importance of community and collaboration in journalism. Keep up with The Buckeye Flame online: Website: https://thebuckeyeflame.com/ [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/ [https://www.instagram.com/thebuckeyeflame/] Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com [https://bsky.app/profile/thebuckeyeflame.com] Support for This News is So Gay comes from the LGBTQ+ Opportunity Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, leveraging philanthropy to empower LGBTQ+ communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]