Community leaders
5–7 recognised leaders from diverse LGBTQ+ backgrounds.
- Quarterly review
- Network support
- Community accountability
Team and hiring
Organisation plan for a mission-led newsroom
The transformation requires a real organisation: leadership, product, editorial, community, operations, freelancers and an advisory board.
Year 1 structure
6 full-time + 15 freelancers
| Role | Start | Salary band | Mandate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder / Director | Immediate | $80K–120K | Vision, fundraising, partnerships and governance |
| Business Director | Weeks 2–4 | $80K–120K | Revenue, partnerships, financial management |
| Editor-in-Chief | Weeks 6–8 | $70K–100K | Editorial vision, beats, quality and newsroom |
| Head of Product / Tech | Weeks 8–10 | $70K–100K | Platform, analytics, security and UX |
| Head of Community | Weeks 10–12 | $50K–70K | Social, events, forums, moderation and safety |
| Operations & Finance | Month 2 | $50K–70K | Accounting, contracts, HR and compliance |
Freelancer model
- Senior journalists: $300–500 per article.
- Beat reporters: $150–250 per article.
- Community reporters: $50–100 per short brief.
- Year 1 freelance budget: around $100K, ramping by output.
Hiring principles
- Domain expertise and communication excellence.
- Commitment to LGBTQ+ community empowerment.
- Startup resilience and independent execution.
- Diversity across lived experience, language, caste, class, faith and region.
Advisory board
Community + journalism + business oversight
Journalism experts
3–4 editors, journalism professors or senior reporters.
- Mentorship
- Standards review
- Awards guidance
Business advisors
2–3 media, startup or impact investing advisors.
- Revenue review
- Fundraising introductions
- Sustainability guidance