National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association


The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of LGBTQ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, students, educators, and communications professionals.
According to the NLGJA's website, "NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members." The association offers professional development opportunities for its members, in addition to resources newsrooms including a Rapid Response Task Force, Stylebook Supplement on LGBTQ Terminology,http://www.nlgja.org/stylebook/ and informational tip-sheets.

History

The association was founded by Roy Aarons in 1990, along with other journalists, Elaine Herscher, Shannon Hickey, David Tuller, Victor Zonana, and Kathleen Buckley, who made up its first board.
Jen Christensen took over as NLGJA national president following the death of Michael Triplett, who died Jan. 18, 2013, less than six month after his election.
Past national Presidents of NLGJA include Roy Aarons, Karen-Louise Boothe, Robert Dodge, Steven Petrow, Eric Hegedus, David Steinberg and Michael Triplett.
NLGJA hosts three annual benefit events to support its programs throughout the year: the Headlines & Headliners Benefit in New York City, Dateline:DC in Washington, DC, and L.A. Exclusive in Los Angeles. The events have drawn guests including Don Lemon, Hoda Kotb, Meredith Vieira, Rue McClanahan, and Barry Manilow.
The association has inspired the founding of the :fr:Association des journalistes LGBTQ|French association of LGBTQ journalists in 2013.
NLGJA works with the Centers for Disease Control as part of the Partnering and Communicating Together to Act Against AIDS program. As part of the partnership, NLGJA offers workshops and resources to educate journalists about the HIV & AIDS epidemic.

Conventions

From its inception in 1990, NLJGA hosts an annual convention inviting their members to participate in top-level training sessions, thought-provoking discussions, and social & professional networking events. From 2003 to 2016, a one-day LGBT Media Summit was added to the event to educate and network journalists working within LGBT media.
The 2012 convention was the first time NLGJA participated in the joint UNITY Journalists convention, held in Las Vegas with the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Native American Journalists Association.
2010 marked the 20th anniversary for NLGJA. It hosted its annual convention in San Francisco. In 2009 , NLGJA held its first international convention in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Previous conventions have been held in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and San Francisco, among other cities.

Newsletter

The group published a quarterly newsmagazine called Outlook until the mid-2000s. The magazine focused on LGBTQ stories in the workplace and workplace issues such as domestic partner benefits, and updates readers on NLGJA's activities at the local and national levels. The magazine had a circulation of over 3,500. As it was written by news professionals, it had a high level of professional writing and was recognized as a source for commentary on LGBTQ workplace issues.

LGBTQ Journalist Hall of Fame

Starting in 2005, the NLGJA has inducted noteworthy LGBTQ journalists into a Hall of Fame so that their legacy may be remembered for generations to come. Inductions occur during the NLGJA National Convention each year along with the annual Excellence in Journalism awards.
Inductees by year:

2017

Continuing a tradition started in 1993, the NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards are given each year to recognize journalists who have made a difference in their field. Each year the organization chooses recipients for awards in over 30 categories spanning fields including local television, radio, HIV/AIDS coverage, photojournalism, and feature writing. The awards are given out at the NLGJA National Convention each year.

2018 NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Award recipients

The 2018 Excellence in Journalism Awards were announced on July 3, 2018 with awards presentations scheduled for September 8–10, 2018 in Palm Springs, California during the organization's 3-day annual convention.
Nick Broomfield and Marc Hoeferlin for “Whitney: Can I Be Me”, Showtime and BBC
Peggy Kusinski, Katy Smyser, Lisa Capitanini, Richard Moy, Julio Martinez and Nathan Halder for “Some Local Rules Keep Transgender Athletes From Competing In High Schools”, NBC5 Chicago
Todd Cross and Gabe Gutierrez for “One Year After Pulse Nightclub Shooting, 4 People Reflect on How Their Lives Changed”, Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist/NBC
Natalie Winston, Gabriela Saldivia and David Greene for “‘They Told Me I Wasn’t A Human Being’: Gay Men Speak Of Brutal Treatment In Chechnya”, National Public Radio
Kate Sloan and Indiana Joel for “What It’s Like to Talk to Your Doctor About Sexual Health When You’re Bisexual”, Xtra
Linda Villarosa for “America’s Hidden HIV Epidemic”, The New York Times Magazine
Margie Fishman for “A Child’s Journey to ‘Truegender’”, The News Journal/USA Today
Phoebe Wang for “God + The Gays”, The Heart '

NLGJA Journalist of the Year Award recipients

''NLGJA Stylebook Supplement on LGBTQ Terminology''

The NLGJA's most noteworthy tangible contribution to the journalism industry is the NLGJA Stylebook Supplement on LGBTQ Terminology, which fellow journalists can use for reference when writing about topics relating to the LGBTQ community. According to the organization's website it is part of the NLGJA's push to encourage "the association's mission of inclusive coverage of LGBTQ people"
The Stylebook Supplement can be found on the NLGJA website in both English and Spanish.

Press service

In connection with Witeck-Combs Communications, the NLGJA launched OutNewsWire in 2008 to simplify the distribution of news articles relating to the LGBTQ community. The wire has more than 400 journalists receiving updates currently, which are available online. The service comes at a discounted price to "nonprofits hoping to use the service to reach the LGBTQ media".

Newsroom Outreach Project

As early as 1996, the NLGJA, along with Hollywood Supports, developed “sexual orientation in the workplace” seminars that were conducted in Knight-Ridder newspapers across on the nation. The seminars were designed to place emphasis on acceptance in the workplace, through discussions of stereotypes and business and legal issues involved with the LGBTQ community. The stated goal of these seminars was to provide an LGBTQ-friendly office environment for LGBTQ journalists, but the discussions also pushed for domestic partnership benefits at newspapers across the nation, one of the main focuses of the LGBTQ rights movement nationwide. The seminars are offered free of charge to news organizations.
During the seminars, facilitators introduce employees to the “model of parity” NLGJA developed in order to encourage equality and inclusiveness within the workplace. There are fourteen steps in this model, highlighting both workplace climate and fair compensation. Included in these steps are things like avoiding double standards, promoting balanced coverage, providing the same insurance coverage for all employees, and offering family and medical leave.

Rapid Response Task Force

In order to more directly combat biased journalism, the NLGJA formed the Rapid Response Task Force. This team of journalists addresses any news piece that readers report as being offensive or inaccurate and informs writers and readers of the correct terminology, which furthers their mission of equality and helps to “spread awareness about issues facing the LGBTQ community”. In order to report a biased or offensive story, readers simply email the link or a description of the article to the NLGJA and the problem is evaluated.

Student outreach

In an attempt at connecting with and encouraging future LGBTQ journalists, the NLGJA created the CONNECT: Student Journalism Project. The program brings 12 young journalists to NLGJA's National Convention each year to form a newsroom and cover the local community and convention events. Since its inception, over 200 students have participated in the CONNECT program.
The NLGJA offers several scholarships each year to students "committed to NLGJA's mission of fair and accurate coverage of the LGBTQ community." These scholarships include the Leroy F. Aarons scholarship and the Kay Longcope Scholarship , each of which provides tuition money to one LGBTQ student a year.

Membership

Between 2008 and 2009, the organization lost members due to the number of people laid off in the media industry that year. Since then, membership has steadily grown to include over 750 members.