GayStarNews, which was created in 2012 will cease business today, leaving around 20 staff members without a job.
GayStarNews, which enjoyed around a 23 per cent share of the LGBT+ news market is entering insolvency according to BBC LGBT+ correspondent, Ben Hunte.
GayStarNews was the brainchild of Tris Reid-Smith and Scott Nunn. The brand was opened in 2012. According to SimilarWeb the website attracted around 1.5 to 2 million hits a month, (although the publishers claimed a readership of over 5 million) and was number 19 in the list of LGBT+ websites on the planet.
It also created the world’s first Digital Pride.
According to Hunte, around 20 staff members were told that the company was to cease trading through a series of meetings.
Replaying the news, Hunte wrote on Twitter, “LGBT media group Gay Star News will cease trading tomorrow. It is entering insolvency resulting in ~20 job losses. Staff were reportedly told 48hrs before pay day via meetings”.
BREAKING: LGBT media group Gay Star News (@gaystarnews) will cease trading tomorrow.
It is entering insolvency resulting in ~20 job losses. Staff were reportedly told 48hrs before pay day via meetings.
— Ben Hunte (@BenInLDN) July 29, 2019
GSN has yet to confirm the news, but the last piece of content published was yesterday afternoon and the last Tweet sent from its account was over 18 hours ago (from the publishing of this article).
Founder of Pink News, Ben Cohen wished the staff of GSN “good luck” for the future, while Ally Camps, the co-chair of Pride In London wrote that it was “terrible news”.
Darren Styles, who publishes Attitude Magazine, “That is a great shame, LGBTQ media is a small enough place as it is.”
Tough world
The entire media industry has had a tough few years with many reported closures and hundreds of journalists losing their jobs. As consumers move online to read their news, some newsgroups are finding it hard to adapt and find sustainable financial models.
The online advertising market is incredibly challenging and news brands can find it hard to compete with both Google and Facebook, which swallow huge proportions of advertisers’ money.
