OUT! was published by Out! Inc., a non-profit membership organization based in Madison, Wis. It was probably the first newspaper-style and format publication for Wisconsin's gay and lesbian community, containing primarily newspaper-type articles of state and national news, plus features on health, the arts, resource guide, calendar, classifieds, etc.

According to an article in Madison's "The United" newsletter, Sept-Oct 1987:

OUT!, Wisconsin's gay/ lesbian newspaper, has ceased publication. Reasons for the closure were financial, according to editor Jeff Kirsch.

OUT had been funded largely by financial pledges and grants, as well as advertising. Major grant sources had been the Madison Sustaining Fund and the Wisconsin Community Fund.

"In the end, combined revenue afrom grants, donations, advertising and subscriptions was simply not enough to keep the newspaper going," Kirsch said.

OUT! was founded in Madison in 1982, and by its third issue had state-wide distribution. Speak Its Name, a gay/lesbian investigative news agency, which published articles in OUT! as well as other media, will continue to publish its reports in a new gay/lesbian newspaper. The new paper, tentatively titled The Wisconsin Light, will be based in Milwaukee and aims to cover statewide news. It expects to begin publication in mid-October with a staff of three in Milwaukee and two in Madison."

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