Breaking out of the queer echo chamber, a fresh approach
- Brody Levesque
- Jan 17
- 7 min read
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Spencer Macnaughton is used to coaching folks in the art of lobbing balls across the net on a tennis court, an apt metaphorical comparison to teaching a classroom of aspiring journalism students at New York University (NYU), albeit in their case, ideas and the practise of the profession. Both scenarios in pursuit of a winning strategy but focused on excellent results and definite accomplishments.
Macnaughton, however, isn't purely a creature of academia, he's also a working journalist who has written for various publications including among others the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. Adding to his repertoire of journalistic skillsets, he has worked as an Emmy-nominated producer for the legendary CBS News weekly news magazine 60 minutes.
But, what really motivates Macnaughton is the dream he had that has come to fruition in his New York City-based Uncloseted Media venture, which, in his words, "is to be a publication for the LGBTQ community but also to break out of the queer echo chamber so we can bring critically important stories to Americans in every county in all 50 states."
The career path from his native Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to now helming the freshly launched queer media outlet, commenced with tennis. In a recent interview with Rated LGBTQ, Macnaughton reflected,
"I always love teaching. I always feel like I've wanted to be in some kind of leadership role cause I felt like it had a came naturally to me and I just like it. I taught tennis before I moved to New York to go to journalism school at Columbia. I was the assistant pro at my tennis club in Toronto and I taught people from ages literally aged 3 to 93 how to play tennis, and I just loved it and felt like I was really good at it and they gave me a lot of joy and a lot of purpose."
Next stop on his career journey was New York City working on his Masters from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. In the interim he honed his craft as a working journalist. His NYU bio mentions that "Macnaughton is an Emmy-nominated and Gracie Award-winning producer and journalist based in New York City. He has produced long and short documentaries and news magazine pieces for 60 Minutes, The Wall Street Journal, Nick News, and the French news magazine Sept à Huit. He has written and produced LGBTQ-themed stories for The New York Times, The Guardian, Time, Vox and Vice."
His career in academia had its grounding he reflected in the experiences he had as a journalist. He eventually managed to land an Adjunct Faculty teaching position at New York University.
"As I started to have more and more bosses in the media industry, I was like, oh, there are good and bad bosses who have different skills and I'm like, wait, I think I could do this. I love helping people learn and seeing people grow. Like there was nothing better than like a one of my students or clients at the tennis club winning a tennis tournament, right? So I always knew I wanted to teach."
Openly gay and living the shared experiences of the Big Apple's queer community, Macnaughton said there was a sense of needing more.
"So I always knew I wanted to teach, and my foot in the door NYU was my former professor from Columbia and she just helped me get in the door with the administration- they said, 'we're looking for summer courses, pitch some ideas,'" he said.
"I always knew I wanted to do LGBTQ journalism, so I pitched them the LGBTQ journalism course, they said, 'we need this, [you've got a green light,] go. In year one, I only had four students enrolled in a cap of 16, so it almost didn't run. But, I just finished year four and I'm very proud to say there's a big, big wait list every year now."
Turning the focus to his students and specifically teaching queer journalism, Macnaughton points out,
"I think well, I think I'm super passionate about it and that always helps. I mean I've had professors before who just don't care about their subject matter or don't seem to care about their subject matter and that impacts on on you as the student? I think also the people who take my course really recognize the urgency and the importance of telling rigorous journalism."
With the current crop of aspiring journalists, many whom are Gen Z, Macnaughton notes,
"I think it's a misconception that Gen Z people are like snowflakes or just these social justice warriors and nothing else. I think it's really insulting to call somebody that term, it is really insulting, because I think a lot of young people just really care about human rights. This is the generation who have said, 'Fuck this, we've had enough. We're gonna fight back against inequities in inequalities,' and the students that I have had wanna know how to do that from a journalistic perspective"
"I think I also try to talk to them like adults and meet them where they are, and I treat the class like an actual newsroom where the expectations are, you're a journalist on deadline, filing a story, then my edits are gonna reflect a final pass for a story. So I think people really respect that and and like that they feel like they're part of something that is absolutely applicable in the real world."
Beyond the classroom, Macnaughton had a greater goal, motivated by what he defined as a missing element in contemporary queer media. He wanted a space in mainstream media for "an investigative [LGBTQ] media company providing you with objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, original journalism that examines America’s anti-LGBTQ landscape and elevates everyday American heroes."
Launched last September, Uncloseted Media has already set a bar for solid reporting on LGBTQ issues and people.
A definition of journalism, to me is, you know, I've said this before, is not a Republican sound bite and a democratic sound bite divided by two.
Macnaughton told Rated LGBTQ, "I think keeping in line with the science of journalists- I abuse that term the science of journalism, because I really believe that there is, right? A definition of journalism, to me is, you know, I've said this before, is not a Republican sound bite and a democratic sound bite divided by two. You have to really rely on a survey of the research, on a survey of the facts, what is the methodologically sound evidence based research have to say about this topic, right? And what do I mean? It means you might have to put your personal beliefs or your passions to the side, right?"
"There are nuanced topics in LGBTQ journalism right now. For example, trans girls and women's competing in professional sports, right? That's a nuanced topic and it's not always gonna be a journalistic story as you might not always get to the finish line and think this is the perfect picture for the LGBTQ community and the LGBTQ advocacy community. And if if you think it's gonna be less than that, then you shouldn't be in journalism."
On its website, Uncloseted states: "Every week, we will do deep-dive journalism that uncovers the people, the money, and the power behind America’s anti-LGBTQ ecosystem and – at the same time – highlights the voices of the people fighting back against these systems of ignorance and injustice. Our aim is to be a publication for the LGBTQ community but also to break out of the queer echo chamber so we can bring critically important stories to Americans in every county in all 50 states."
In keeping with that mission arc and as Uncloseted's editor-in-chief Macnaughton reflected,
"A journalistic piece, I think is almost like an essay in many ways, and that your first draft is your thesis statement really, right? Or you're telling what you're gonna tell the reader and your hand holding them through the rest of it, right?"
"But you have to know what story you're telling, right? And how you're taking that from just a topic say Christian homeschooling, right? Pointing out how the Christian homeschooling lobby is weaponizing laws to the detriment of queer kids, right? And often it doesn't take that much- it doesn't take rocket science journalism, right? As long as you stay narrow, right? And it's a skill that takes time to learn, but if you can teach the skills of journalism and a succinct clear way, it's honestly not the hardest thing to learn," he added.
With the budding success of Uncloseted, Macnaughton, was asked to look ahead: "Where do you wanna be in five years and where do you want Uncloseted to be in five years?
"Oh my goodness that's a nerve wracking, not a nerve wracking question, but I want us to grow a big time and I want us to be a kind of 60 minutes journalism, right? If you will, the kind of go to for investigative rigorous, nonpartisan journalism, right, that people rely on, people trust, people have confidence in, and let me make it clear, not just LGBTQ people and allies, right?" he said.
"I want us to reach a tipping point where folks on all sides of the political aisle can see an Uncloseted story, know it's LGBTQ focus, but know that there's a level of journalistic rigor to it where they can trust it, whether they agree with it or not, it is what it is, but they can trust the journalism," he said adding, "I see us expanding and growing big time to where hopefully you're gonna see an Uncloseted media podcast at one point. Maybe there's a Netflix show that spawns from a series or even just one of our articles or our investigations. I really think no limit and there's so many different directions that we could go. But, we want to grow and we want to become more recognized and I think at least stick to the main mission- that being a go to for legitimate rigorous LGBTQ focused journalism- it's a path to success."
Asked to define success in his personal space he noted, "This is my dream- what do I mean? [Owning a] media company in New York, it just feels like the stories are like a cliché but I feel like I'm making a difference in people's lives by telling important and interesting stories about a community that's extremely marginalized in this country right now and needs these stories to be told. I'm helping young people in the next generation and helping train them up as really strong journalists and watching them grow," he said.
"I mean that's freaking amazing. And I get to talk to people through still doing some reporting and interviewing every day, sources that I'd never meet in my everyday life if I weren't in journalism."
Spencer Macnaughton also recently chatted with Rated LGBTQ Radio host Rob Watson:
Listen:
Editor's note:
In full disclosure the author sits on the Media Advisory Board for Uncloseted.
