by Joe Siegel

Maryland has a new LGBTQ publication, Maryland OUTloud, which launched in January. But don’t assume it’s based in and only focused on Baltimore.

“We are a Maryland-based newspaper,” explained Adam Romanik, its owner and editor. “We are not based in any specific city in Maryland. We distribute to over 200 locations in Maryland and southern Central Pennsylvania.”

Romanik said Maryland OUTloud is a monthly newspaper with articles of help, encouragement, and current issues in the community. Individuals can subscribe and receive a monthly copy of the newspaper mailed to their home address for $20 per year.

The paper has only three staffers, Romanik; Mary Taylor, handling sales and administration; and Patrick Champaign, focused on shipping and delivery. Taylor and Romanik both worked previously for now-defunct Baltimore OUTloud; Taylor also worked for the Baltimore Gay Paper, which is also no longer in business.

“My partner is also a behind-the-scenes staffer who helps with mailings, deliveries and whatever else is needed. Writers are all volunteer working professionals writing about topics that they are knowledgeable and passionate about. Our plan was to start small and build larger. We started with a 4 page newspaper and 1500 copies. We have now produced 3 newspapers, the latest being 8 pages and 4,000 copies.”

The newspaper has a distinctive look: the physical dimensions are 17″ across and 23″ up and down, and then it’s folded into fourths to sit on newsstands.

“When we started this, one of the challenges was to find a printer that would work with us,” Romanik said. “We found a local printer that I know of and that printer produces a local newspaper with very similar dimensions. After looking at that size and several others, it was decided to go with the larger size. Because it’s larger size, print size is much larger and for those that have difficulty reading a traditional newspaper, it’s not an issue. We have had many comments about how the fact that it can be read without glasses.”

“Also, it’s a win-win for the advertisers,” Romanik continued. “When we created the ad sizes, we started with a full-page ad, which is over 21” high and 16” wide. Then we figured out the size for the rest based on dimensions. All ad sizes are dimensional, which also means laying out the paper is easier and takes less time. Myself, I’m a working professional. Besides being the editor, I work in IT full time, teach as an adjunct professor and my partner and I run a beef cattle ranch operation. So this layout is a win for everyone, lots of space for larger ads and articles and it’s dimensional, which makes it fit together like a puzzle.”

The digital version of Maryland OUTloud is available at https://marylandoutloud.com/.

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 5