by Joe Siegel

NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists honored a number of journalists at their convention held September 4-7, 2025, in Atlanta.

The Georgia Voice was the 2025 recipient of NLGJA’s Legacy Award.

“For years, Georgia Voice has been a trusted outlet for telling the stories of queer people in the South,” noted Adam Pawlus, NLGJA’s executive director. “For 15 years, Georgia Voice has carried forward the legacy of the beloved Southern Voice. It remains a crucial resource for the region and for Georgia’s vibrant LGBTQ+ community. NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is proud to recognize the continued impact of Georgia Voice.”

The Legacy Award is the association’s only award that is presented to an outlet, publication or news organization to recognize the work of its entire staff, rather than an individual. Previous awards have gone to The Advocate, Philadelphia Gay News, the Bay Area Reporter, the Windy City Times and the Washington Blade.

Journalist and author Charles M. Blow, writer and activist Mark S. King, and investigative reporter Lyra McKee were the 2025 inductees into the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame.

McKee, who died in 2019 at the age of 29, was an investigative journalist and author from Belfast. She contributed to outlets including BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, Mosaic Science, Private Eye, and the Belfast Telegraph. Her 2014 blog post, Letter to My 14-Year-Old Self, about growing up gay in Northern Ireland, became a viral inspiration and was later adapted into a short film. Forbes named her to its “30 Under 30 in Media” list in 2016. She was killed in 2019 while covering rioting in Derry.

Blow is an award-winning author, journalist, and commentator whose work has consistently sparked national dialogue on race, sexuality, and social justice. A former graphics director and design director at The New York Times, Blow has written two New York Times bestsellers, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and “The Devil You Know.” Today, Blow serves as a political analyst for MSNBC and was recently appointed Harvard University’s inaugural Langston Hughes Fellow.

King has been writing candidly about HIV and queer life since testing positive for HIV in 1985. His widely acclaimed blog, My Fabulous Disease, has received numerous awards from NLGJA, and he was named NLGJA’s 2020 LGBTQ Journalist of the Year.

Jahna Berry, the Center for Investigative Reporting’s chief operating officer, was the recipient of the 2025 NLGJA Leadership Award. The award recognizes individuals who have made a positive impact on their newsrooms by increasing diversity and improving news coverage of the LGBTQ+ community.

According to NLGJA, “[Berry] has a decade of experience in management and has held senior level roles at major media companies with millions of online readers, including WIRED. As the Center for Investigative Reporting’s COO, she oversees the integration of the organization’s 2024 merger and several core departments, including revenue operations, human resources, and public relations, and leads major strategic initiatives at the award-winning investigative news organization, which produces Mother Jones and the Reveal radio show. For the past five years, Berry has coached rising BIPOC and LGBTQ+ leaders who aspire to more senior level leadership roles. She previously served as president of NLGJA’s Phoenix chapter.”

Grant Johnson is the 2025 recipient of the Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship. Johnson is a multimedia journalist pursuing a master’s in investigative journalism at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School.”

Jonathan Calixto is the 2025 recipient of the Kay Longcope Scholarship. Calixto is a multimedia journalist and graduate student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York, where he focuses on local accountability reporting and broadcast journalism. His work highlights LGBTQ issues, politics, community engagement and entertainment.

IN THE NEWS
Volume 27
Issue 9