Equitas Health is ceasing the publication of its LGBTQ+-focused magazine Prizm. Its digital counterpart, PrizmNews.com, will also fold.
A letter from publisher Carol Zimmer Clark indicates that both the challenges of operating a print publication, and the impacts of the Coronavirus played a role in the closure.
“The COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc on the publishing industry and has deeply affected Prizm in two significant ways,” Zimmer Clark writes. “1. Our distribution to over 1,000 Ohio locations has made it even harder to deliver to a public that is practicing “shelter-at-home” indefinitely. 2. Our advertising revenue has quickly evaporated as events have been canceled and organizations understandably need to redirect their funds to keep their efforts afloat.”
Equitas Health launched the publication in 2017 as a social enterprise after Outlook Ohio Magazine closed its operations. Looking to fill the gap of a LGBTQ+ lifestyle publication, Prizm covered news, politics and health, to arts, entertainment, and fashion, with distribution across the state.
“I am very proud of the work we have done to inform, educate and entertain LGBTQ+ Ohioans and our allies about our lives, our hopes, our struggles and our triumphs over the last three years,” Zimmer Clark says. “It has been the only remaining LGBTQ+ publication in Ohio, giving voice to our community at a time when our civil rights are being eroded with calculation.”
The February issue was the last the Prizm will print. The April/May issue will be available electronically, via e-mail and on Prizm’s website.
For more information, visit prizmnews.com.
