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The Buckeye Flame is a nonprofit, online-only newsroom based in northern Ohio that serves as the state's only statewide LGBTQ+ publication. Launched in June 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was founded by educator and journalist Ken Schneck after the closure of Ohio's previous LGBTQ publication left the state without a dedicated news source for its LGBTQ residents. The publication's mission is to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through engaging content chronicling their triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences. Its content is written by LGBTQ+ journalists for LGBTQ+ audiences, and it is free to read with no paywall.
The Buckeye Flame was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom in March 2020, with its website launching in June of that year. Its creation was a direct response to the folding of Prizm, Ohio's printed LGBTQ news magazine, which ceased publication in March 2020 after the coronavirus pandemic hit Ohio. Schneck had been the editor of Prizm, and when it closed, he and a group of colleagues decided that Ohio could not be left without a statewide LGBTQ+ publication, particularly in a state where LGBTQ+ residents had no legal protections in housing, employment, or public accommodations.
Schneck, a tenured professor of education at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, just outside Cleveland, brought an unusual background to newsroom leadership. Before the Flame, he had been dean of students and chief student affairs officer at Marlboro College in Vermont, had hosted This Show is So Gay, a nationally syndicated radio program, and had performed as a stand-up comic. He is also the author of books on LGBTQ history in Ohio's major cities, including LGBTQ Cleveland, LGBTQ Columbus, and LGBTQ Cincinnati in Arcadia Publishing's Images of Modern America series. The New Jersey native had moved to Cleveland in 2013 to take his faculty position at Baldwin Wallace, where he teaches courses on student development theory, diversity in higher education, ethical leadership, and public policy in higher education.
From its first day, the publication assembled a board and a roster of writers drawn from LGBTQ+ and journalism communities across the state. The founders deliberately kept "Buckeye" in the name, despite advice from publishing industry figures to drop it, to make clear that the publication was focused on Ohio. Within months of its debut in late June 2020, it had established itself as the go-to source for original LGBTQ+ stories spanning the state, from politics and policy to community celebrations.
The Buckeye Flame's mission statement declares that it amplifies the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through the creation of engaging content that chronicles triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences. Its vision is to be the source for LGBTQ+ Ohio news. From day one, the organization has centered on what it calls "igniting action": it wants readers not only to engage with its content but to do something with the words it publishes, whether that means calling a representative, starting a conversation, or learning about a new topic.
The publication's editorial philosophy is inseparable from the identities of its staff. As Schneck has said, the vast majority of the people writing for The Buckeye Flame are not just journalists but members of the LGBTQ+ community, which makes the work inherently personal. That personal stake shapes coverage that is unapologetically pro-LGBTQ, a stance the publication presents as a corrective to mainstream outlets that it says deadname transgender people, "both-sides" issues that do not have two sides, or use medically inaccurate information.
The Buckeye Flame publishes rolling online content throughout the week, with a minimum of five stories per week, covering the full range of LGBTQ+ life in Ohio. Its reporting has addressed gender-affirming care, conversion therapy bans, LGBTQ sports, and anti-LGBTQ legislation at the local and statewide levels. It regularly covers the Ohio Legislature's efforts to restrict LGBTQ+ rights, tracking bills through committee, through vetoes and veto overrides, through lawsuits and appeals.
The publication's coverage of House Bill 68, Ohio's ban on gender-affirming care for minors, exemplified its approach: it followed the bill's legislative journey in detail and had a staff writer present when the Tenth District Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in September 2024. Beyond policy, the Flame covers Pride celebrations across the state, community activism, arts and culture, and the everyday lives of LGBTQ+ Ohioans. Its 2020 year-end roundup of its most-viewed stories illustrated the range, from the firing of Ohio University's LGBT Center director to commentary, activism, and entertainment.
One of The Buckeye Flame's most distinctive features is its "Steal Our Stories" policy. From the day of its launch, the homepage has prominently featured a link encouraging other media outlets to republish its content, properly attributed, free of charge and without asking permission. Schneck has said the publication believes so deeply in the depth, sensitivity, and grace of its content that it would rather other outlets run its stories than problematic ones that misrepresent LGBTQ+ people and issues.
The policy reflects a conviction that accurate, humane coverage of LGBTQ+ Ohioans is more important than exclusivity or traffic. It has also served as a distribution strategy: by making its stories freely available, the Flame has extended its reach far beyond its own website. The publication occasionally co-publishes higher-profile material with other Ohio outlets, such as Cleveland Scene, and its work has been honored by organizations including The New York Times, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, GLAAD, and the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, now known as NLGJA.
The Buckeye Flame's weekly email newsletter, called Spark, compiles the week's stories for subscribers every Thursday. The newsletter is a central part of the publication's distribution, ensuring that its rolling online content reaches readers who may not visit the website daily. Like the website itself, the newsletter is free, consistent with the publication's commitment to keeping its journalism accessible to all LGBTQ+ Ohioans regardless of ability to pay.
The newsletter's name echoes the publication's fire imagery, the flame, the spark, the "Firefly" membership program, which together create a cohesive brand identity. The Firefly program invites readers to become sustaining members of the nonprofit newsroom, with perks including a holographic vinyl sticker and quarterly Firefly Chats with staff offering the inside scoop on reporting. The publication's development director manages major donor relationships, and its tax-exempt status makes donations tax-deductible.
Ken Schneck serves as the editor of The Buckeye Flame, and for his work he was honored with the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for National LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year, one of the most prestigious honors in LGBTQ journalism. The publication's board and roster of writers include LGBTQ+ and journalism luminaries from across Ohio, and its LinkedIn profile lists a small team of around eleven people. The newsroom is headquartered at 6516 Detroit Avenue in Cleveland.
Schneck has spoken about planning to transition to a full-time role at The Buckeye Flame, leaving his academic career behind to focus entirely on the nonprofit publication. His dual identity as an educator and journalist has shaped the publication's explanatory approach: it seeks not only to report but to educate readers about the policies and systems affecting LGBTQ+ Ohioans. His background as a stand-up comic and author infuses the publication with a voice that can be serious about its mission while remaining accessible and humane.
As an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit newsroom, The Buckeye Flame relies on community support, foundation grants, and individual donations to keep its reporting free and accessible statewide. It has no paywall and encourages the free republication of its stories. Its fundraising appeals emphasize that it launched because something was missing in Ohio: a statewide LGBTQ+ newsroom paying attention to the community, its politics, and its lives in every corner of the state.
The publication is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News and is associated with other journalist groups and Ohio's LGBTQ chamber of commerce. Its inaugural impact report, published in 2025, documented its growth since the 2020 launch and its role in a state where the legislature, in the publication's words, works overtime to restrict the lived experience of LGBTQ+ Ohioans. The report framed the publication's work as shining a light on the lives of LGBTQ+ Ohioans and providing a spark to ignite the change needed for lived equality.
The Buckeye Flame has been recognized by national journalism and LGBTQ organizations. Its work has been honored by The New York Times, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, GLAAD, and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists. Schneck's Sarah Pettit Award recognized him as the national LGBTQ+ journalist of the year. Cleveland Magazine named him one of its Most Interesting People of 2024, profiling the seriousness and humor with which he approaches the work.
The publication's influence extends beyond its own pages through the "Steal Our Stories" policy, which has placed its reporting in front of audiences across Ohio and beyond. In a state that has been trending Republican in statewide elections and where LGBTQ+ Ohioans lack statewide nondiscrimination protections, the Flame has positioned itself as an essential counterweight, documenting both the community's struggles and its celebrations.
Operating an LGBTQ+ newsroom in Ohio presents ongoing challenges. The state's political environment has grown more hostile to LGBTQ+ rights, with the legislature advancing restrictions on gender-affirming care, drag performances, and transgender youth participation in sports. Schneck has said he and his staff receive their share of hostile feedback, including a state legislator describing him as a bully. Because most of the publication's writers are themselves LGBTQ+, the political attacks feel personal.
The publication has also faced criticism from those who disagree with its editorial stance. A Substack publication critical of gender-affirming care for minors accused the Flame of failing to cover a 2024 trial over House Bill 68, arguing that the proceeding was squarely within its editorial mandate. The episode illustrated the pressures on an advocacy-oriented newsroom navigating one of the most contentious issues in American public life. The Flame has not wavered from its position that its role is to serve LGBTQ+ Ohioans with journalism that affirms their dignity.
As The Buckeye Flame moves beyond its fifth year, it remains Ohio's only statewide LGBTQ+ publication, with no major competition in the space. The only other LGBTQ+ periodical in the state of which Schneck is aware is Fusion, a Kent State University student magazine that has been published for decades. The Flame's leaders describe the organization as going extremely strong in its fifth year, with a growing audience and a sustainable nonprofit model.
The publication's future will be shaped by the same forces that created it: the need for accurate, humane coverage of LGBTQ+ Ohioans in a state where their rights remain contested. Its bet is that journalism written by LGBTQ+ people for LGBTQ+ people, freely shared and freely republished, can build the community and civic empowerment its mission promises. In a media landscape where local LGBTQ+ publications have vanished across the country, The Buckeye Flame's survival and growth make it a notable exception.
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