After more than 10 years of operation, Humen Media Hungary will no longer publish Humen Magazine, Hungary’s only printed, free LGBTQ magazine.
The cultural and lifestyle magazine was launched in October 2011 as a result of a friendly initiative to bridge the gap between members of mainstream society and LGBTQ people by presenting LGBTQ issues, thus increasing acceptance in Hungary. The magazine has featured a number of Hungarian and international LGBTQ celebrities and activists, including Shawn Mendes, singer Bori Péterfy, actor Róbert Alföldi, Prezi CEO Péter Árvai and drag queen Lady Dömper.
In over ten years, Humen has not simply been a print magazine, the articles and interviews it has published have helped many members of LGBTQ youth to accept themselves, while also giving the mainstream society an insight into the lives of the LGBTQ community.
The closure of the magazine was influenced by a combination of reasons, which Zsolt Erdei, founder of Humen Media Group and director of Humen Magazine, spoke about:
„The last two years have been very challenging, starting with the coronavirus outbreak. The recovery from it has created a new environment for everyone, to which we are constantly adapting. Due to various restrictions connected to the pandemic, the last two years have seen the print magazine reaching fewer readers, which would not justify the closure of a publication of this type, but at the moment we are in a spiral of supply and price increases for raw materials and printing processes that we cannot see the end of. In addition, many of our business partners are only able to decide at the last minute whether or not to advertise because they are not sure whether they will have anything to sell, market or have their services available when the current magazine is published. And in such an economic environment, it is also much more efficient for them to have an online-only platform, where we can be much more flexible with the launch of an advertising campaign, for example.”
The Humen name will not disappear with the phasing out of the print format, the magazine’s content will continue to appear on the Humen Online news portal. The merger will create a new platform that will feature LGBTQ cultural, public and lifestyle topics alongside breaking news affecting the community. The Humen Festival, an all-arts LGBTQ cultural festival now in its seventh year, will continue, and the film days will continue to be hosted at the Művész cinema.
On the front cover of the last issue, the print magazine bids farewell with the same photo that appeared on the cover of the very first issue in October 2011. The last issue will be distributed from 2 June.
