by Joe Siegel

Ambush Magazine, which bills itself as the longest continually published gay magazine in the Deep South, has resumed publishing a print edition after a nearly four year hiatus.

The New Orleans-based publication, which debuted in 1982, had stopped printing during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, although a digital edition remained available.

“Before COVID, I had two full-time employees making full-time salaries,” said T.J. Acosta, the magazine’s publisher. “And then COVID happened. There was no distribution, there was nobody to advertise and it was very very difficult to try and get that started again. We just had no income at all.”

“There were people who were writing for the online edition who really wanted us to go back to print,” noted Acosta. “There were people in the community who wanted us to go back to print and we knew we could do it if we could make it profitable.”

Ambush was able to accomplish that by publishing an issue every two months instead of every two weeks, meaning six print issues a year.

“We changed the format,” Acosta continued. “Before it was more like newsprint. Now it’s more like a magazine. The community has been supportive. A lot of our advertisers came back, which made it economically feasible to do. We’ve put out two [issues] now and we’ve gotten a positive response from people.”

Acosta believes print is every bit as important for LGBTQ media as digital.

“Now more than ever, you need to reach people where they are and there is still a sliver of the LGBTQ community, especially older people, who are not as savvy digitally and this is where they get their information. So if you want to reach them, this is a good vehicle to do it.”

Acosta remains optimistic about the future of print media even though many publications are struggling or have already shut down.

“We live in a digital age,” Acosta added. “A lot of [readers] consume their news and their media via Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, X, what have you. I feel there is a future for print media in certain niche markets. I feel like ours is one of those. We have a defined market, we have a community that supports us and they’re willing to advertise. I think we’ll be okay.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 26
Issue 9