by Joe Siegel

The annual convention of NLGJA: The National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists concluded September 8 in Los Angeles.

Reporter and editor Jeffrey Schmalz, film critic Kevin Thomas, and editor and songwriter Judy Wieder, the former editor of The Advocate, were inducted into the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame.

“Today, we celebrate the remarkable contributions of three courageous individuals who helped to change the trajectory of journalism, and set a standard of thoughtfulness, sensitivity and inclusivity,” said  Adam Pawlus, NLGJA’s executive director. “As we welcome them into the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame, we honor their unwavering commitment to their craft, truth and equality.”

Schmalz was a New York Times reporter and editor who covered HIV/AIDS before he died in 1993. Thomas has reviewed films for over 50 years, including working at the Los Angeles Times from 1965-2012. Wieder was the first female editor-in-chief of The Advocate.

The LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame was launched to honor outstanding LGBTQ+ journalists who have exemplified the association’s mission to advance fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ+ communities and issues, according to the group. To date, the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame has honored 56 individuals, living and deceased, who have left a lasting mark on their profession through their own courage and mastery of the practice of journalism.

Newsmagazine The Advocate was the recipient of the Legacy Award. This award was created to recognize an outlet, publication or news organization that has exhibited innovative, high-quality and sustained news coverage of the LGBTQ+ community over an extended period of time, according to NLGJA.

“With a towering history as the oldest surviving LGBTQ+ publication in the country, the outlet embodies the idea of a legacy,” Pawlus said. “It has served as a resource for our community for over 50 years, and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is proud to recognize the decades of tremendous work that The Advocate has produced.”

On-air personality and entertainment journalist Scott Evans was the 2024 recipient of the Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage.  The Lisa Ben Award is designed to honor a journalist whose body of work is distinguished by insight and impact through engaging features on LGBTQ+ individuals, the LGBTQ+ community or LGBTQ+ issues, according to NLGJA.

The convention’s annual View from the Top panel featured news editors and executives in a discussion about the state of LGBTQ print and broadcast media.

“One thing that we do and have to constantly remind our reporters is to be out there in the community as much as possible,” said Daisy Thornton, digital managing editor for Federal News Network. “Go to events in person as much as possible.”

The panel shared their views on diversity in their coverage.

“The culture of the newsroom is key to getting these stories and being authentic in terms of telling these stories,” said Sharif Durhams, managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  

“The more we can make our newsroom look and sound and feel like the nation and the world that we’re covering, the better off we are and the better the report is and the more trust is engendered with our readers,” said Sam Sifton, assistant managing editor of the New York Times. “It’s been exciting to see.”

The changing business model for news organizations was also noted.

“We’re not able to bring in the revenue that we used to bring in when we had mass advertising and mass audiences,” said Bob Murphy, vice president of administration for ABC News. “It’s just completely gone away. The amount of revenue that we can count on is quite small. The news organizations of the future will be different. They will be different sizes, they will have different roles. The challenge we have today is to do our jobs to the best of our ability and not get bogged down by all of the change and all of the uncertainty. At the same time, we have to keep a focus on exactly what we’re doing and do it well.”

TOP STORY
Volume 26
Issue 7