Dissecting the Tale of Two Wildly Different State Legislatures

Framing Data on LGBTQ+ Equality and What to Actually Do With the Numbers

There is so much new data about LGBTQ+ communities and views on equal rights. What do those numbers have to tell us? We look at the existence of “nudifying” apps and the digital violence that can stem from them, as well as Ohio House Bill 172 and its push to limit physical and mental care for LGBTQ+ youth. And we have to talk about gay license plates – as a Lakewood, Ohio resident joins another lawsuit against the Ohio BMV.  This week’s roundtable:  * Senior staff writer for The Buckeye Flame [https://thebuckeyeflame.com/], H.L. Comeriato * Technology reporter for the 19th, Jasmine Mithani It  is the Buckeye Flame’s 6th birthday and we are celebrating all month. We need your support to keep the 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] Links: * If you are experiencing sexual violence or abuse, please call RAINN’s free, confidential hotline at (800) 656-HOPE, text HOPE to 64674. To chat live, click here [https://rainn.org/help-and-healing/hotline/]. * If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor. * If you are an transgender adult in crisis, please contact the National Trans Lifeline [https://translifeline.org/hotline/]: 877-565-8860 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]

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]