December 5, 2023 (Toronto, ON)
Pink Triangle Press, one of the world’s longest running LGBTQ2S+ media organizations, has appointed research firms Signal Hill and Maru Group as its survey and insights partners for a ground-breaking initiative that will help drive greater diversity within Canadian film, television, streaming, and gaming industries.
PTP, with support from the Canada Media Fund (CMF), is developing the first of a series of “Pink Papers”, focused on LGBTQ2S+ representation. The inaugural report will focus on Canada’s screen-based industries. The intention is to celebrate and advocate for LGBTQ2S+ professionals working in these industries through research, reporting, and recognition.
The foundation of this report will be an industry-wide survey to identify needs, gaps, systemic issues, and opportunities for LGBTQ2S+ professionals working in film, television, streaming, and gaming.
This first Pink Paper will also include in-depth analysis of a sample of Canadian content released in 2023 to assess how LGBTQ2S+ people are represented. The intention is to celebrate achievements, highlight areas where the industry can do better, and set a baseline to track progress over time.
“We’re delighted to be selected by Pink Triangle Press to help lay a foundation for this important initiative,” says Jeff Vidler, President and Founder of Signal Hill Insights. “Even with real gains in the on-screen representation of LGBTQ2S+ over the past 30 years, there’s still work to be done and opportunities to be realized both on-screen and within the screen industry workforce. And there need to be yardsticks to measure progress.”
“This will be thorough and nuanced research which we hope will catalyze important industry conversations,” says David Walberg, executive director of PTP. “We have always believed narratives are a foundation of change and with organized campaigns of anti-queer and trans rhetoric, this work is happening at a pivotal moment.”
The research will be conducted in both official languages to reflect the unique needs of the LGBTQ2S+ communities in both Quebec and English Canada. French moderation will be conducted by Quebec-based researchers. The editorial team at Xtra Magazine, the flagship publication of PTP, will contribute to the Pink Papers, bringing independent journalistic credibility and a long legacy of covering entertainment and culture through a LGBTQ2S+ lens to the project.
The first annual Pink Paper will be made available in 2024 to the industry at large, as a resource that can be used to support Canada’s screen industries and LGBTQ2S+ professionals. All activity will be bilingual and representative of both the French and English Canadian markets.
PTP is urging LGBTQ2S+ media, film and gaming professionals to reach out directly if they are interested in learning more about how they can contribute input into the research. They can contact Signal Hill at pinkpaper.research@signalhillinsights.com.
About Pink Triangle Press:
PTP has a mission to advocate for the rights and visibility of LGBTQ2S+ communities. We have been a leading LGBTQ2S+ media voice since 1971 with our groundbreaking journalism and advocacy now led by Xtra Magazine, the first LGBTQ2S+ publication internationally to be part of The Trust Project (thetrustproject.org) and a 2023 gold medal winner for overall excellence at the Digital Publishing Awards. PTP exists to inspire LGBTQ2S+ communities to pursue a future where everyone is free to celebrate who they are and communities feel seen and heard, empowered to think and act and grow and fill the world. PTP is governed as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to our mission: Daring together to set love free.
About Signal Hill Insights
Signal Hill Insights is a Toronto-based media research consultancy. Their research teams are led by President/Founder Jeff Vidler, with more than 25 years of conducting research and providing strategic advice to most of Canada’s leading media firms, associations and organizations in both the public and private sector. See more at Signal Hill Insights
About Maru Group
Maru Group is a proud member of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud dedicated to improving its clients’ business outcomes. Maru Group delivers its market and opinion research services to private, public, and not-for-profit clients through teams of sector-specific consultants and data collection/sample experts specializing in the use of Insight Community and Voice of Market technology. Maru Public Opinion partners with media outlets and public relations agencies for publicly released studies.
For more information contact
Mitchell Cheeseman, Marketing & Brand Manager
Pronouns: He/Him
Pink Triangle Press
Email: mitchell.cheeseman@ptp.media