by Joe Siegel 

Online publication QBurgh, which serves the LGBTQ community in the greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area, recently launched a print edition.

“We’re intentionally local and unapologetically queer,” explained co-founder Jim Sheppard. “Rather than trying to compete with national LGBTQ+ media, we focus on the stories happening in our own neighborhoods and the people organizing, creating, advocating, celebrating and building community here in Pittsburgh and across Western Pennsylvania.”

According to Sheppard, QBurgh launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic as a digital-first publication, “at a time when LGBTQ+ people couldn’t gather in person and many of the spaces that keep our community connected had gone quiet. We recognized that, even while we were physically apart, our community still needed a place to share news, celebrate one another, stay informed, and remain connected.”

“There was also a larger gap we hoped to help fill,” Sheppard said. “After Pittsburgh’s Out ceased publication in 2012, Western Pennsylvania went nearly a decade without a comprehensive LGBTQ+ news source dedicated to covering the full spectrum of queer life. While many organizations and outlets continued doing important work, there wasn’t a publication focused exclusively on telling the stories of our community across news, politics, arts, culture, nightlife and advocacy.”

Sheppard believes print media can still be economically viable, although he notes the climate is very different from 20 or 30 years ago.

“Print today isn’t about trying to replace digital media. It’s about complementing it. People still value something tangible that they can pick up at a coffee shop, community center, bookstore or LGBTQ+ venue. Print creates opportunities for discovery in ways that digital algorithms often don’t, and it gives readers a chance to engage more intentionally with journalism,” Sheppard said.

“For us, launching a monthly newspaper wasn’t about nostalgia,” he noted. “It was about meeting people where they are and strengthening connections within the community. Our digital platform allows us to report news as it happens, while print offers a curated snapshot of the stories, voices and events shaping LGBTQ+ life each month.”

Sheppard said the response from readers has been “overwhelming.”

“We knew there was enthusiasm for bringing LGBTQ+ journalism back into print, but the community exceeded our expectations. We quickly ran out of copies of our inaugural July [2026] issue through our distribution network, and more than 200 people signed up to have future issues delivered directly to their mailboxes.”

He continued, “The enthusiasm for the print edition has reinforced what we’ve believed all along. People still value thoughtful, community-centered journalism, and they appreciate having it in a format they can hold, share and revisit. One of the most rewarding responses has come from community members who tell us they discovered a local organization, event or artist simply because they picked up the newspaper. … For us, the newspaper is another way of bringing our community together.”

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Volume 28
Issue 6