The former Riverfront Times owner sold his LGBTQ magazine to its longtime editor Thursday.
Chris Keating sold Out in STL for $1 to Chris Andoe, who is in his second run as editor of the publication. Andoe said selling the magazine was Keating’s idea.
Earlier this month, Andoe contacted Keating to talk about the editorial direction of Out in STL as the Trump administration came into power. Keating agreed to meet and said he’d also like to discuss Andoe having an ownership stake.
“So I was excited about that,” Andoe said. “And I showed up to the meeting, and he looked at me and said, ‘How about I just give it to you?’”
Keating sold the magazine for $1 to make it a legal transaction, Andoe said. Keating’s company Big Lou Holdings owns Sauce as well as a handful of alt-weekly publications outside Missouri. Andoe said that Keating’s team will, for the moment, continue to sell ads in Out in STL.
“It was better in the hands of Chris as he had a great vision for OISTL,” Keating said via text message. “Rather than it being under my ownership, it made sense that Chris take this on.”
Andoe said he hopes to bring back the print edition of Out in STL in a few months and is focusing now on rebuilding its roster of writers. He said the magazine will publish both lighthearted cultural articles and hard-hitting journalism.
St. Louis used to have several LGBTQ publications, including Boom Magazine and Vital Voice, Andoe said.
“I think we're now the only LGBTQ publication, and I think there's tremendous need,” he said. “I think our voice is needed more than ever.”
Euclid Media Group, of which Keating was an owner, launched Out in STL in 2017 and asked Andoe to come on as editor. He initially declined but later took the job before facing a coup at a magazine party in 2019.
“I liken it to Mar-a-Lago when Trump is trying to defuse a North Korean nuclear situation in the dining room and all the guests are there because it was all played out in front of everyone. It was an ordeal,” he said. “We just really couldn’t work together after that.”
Melissa Meinzer then became editor, and Andoe stepped away for several years. He came back as a contributor in 2022 and as editor subsequently.
The RFT and Out in STL were at one time sister publications. Keating sold the RFT to an undisclosed buyer in May last year. In September, St. Louis Public Radio uncovered the probable owners — a Texas-based LLC linked to OnlyFans link-farming businesses.
Jessica Rogen is a former employee of Big Lou Holdings and the Riverfront Times.
