Contents:
- A LONG HISTORY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT LGBTQ+ JOURNALISTS HAVE HAD TO AL WH QUTNS ABOUT THEIR ABILY TO VER THEIR OWN MUNY. WHEN MIGUEL WANTED TO REPORT ON THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MARRIAGE EQUALY BATE CALIFORNIA 2004, THERE WAS SOME QUTN ABOUT WHETHER HE, AS A GAY JOURNALIST, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VER THE STORY AT ALL. HIS TV NEWSROOM CID THAT “HAVG SOMEBODY WH TIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ‘OTHER SI,’ SO TO SPEAK, WAS MORE BENEFICIAL THAN HARMFUL,” HE SAID, AND MIGUEL WAS ALLOWED TO VER THE STORY. BUT WASN’T EASY. HE AND A LBIAN PHOTOGRAPHER NDUCTED AN TERVIEW WH A LAWMAKER SACRAMENTO WHO WAS OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. THE PAIR TRIED TO BRACE THEMSELV; THEY KNEW THE POLICIAN WAS LIKELY TO SAY SOME HATEFUL THGS ABOUT GAY PEOPLE. THE NVERSATN LEFT A MARK, AND THEY SPENT THE DRIVE BACK TO SAN FRANCIS PROCSG WHAT THEY HAD HEARD. “LOOKG BACK, I N SAY WAS TRMATIC,” MIGUEL SAID. DES LATER, HE STILL VERS PLENTY OF LGBTQ+ TOPICS, AND STILL FAC QUTNS ABOUT HOW BT TO HANDLE THEM. “IT’S NONSTOP, PECIALLY NSIRG WHAT’S HAPPENG TO OUR TRANS FOLKS,” HE SAID. HE WORKS WH EDORS AND PRODUCERS TO MAKE SURE LANGUAGE IS ACCURATE, AND THAT ALL SOURC ARE TREATED WH RPECT. “IT’S THE BURN OF BEG THE GAY PERSON THE NEWSROOM,” MIGUEL SAID. “YOU BEE THE ROURCE FOR EVERYONE ELSE.” BUT EVEN WH SUPPORTIVE MANAGERS, AND A GROWG POPULATN OF OPENLY LGBTQ+ REPORTERS, QUTNS LGER ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH SOME STORI. ‘ALL WE N DO IS RM PEOPLE WHAT THE FACTS ARE’
- 'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
A LONG HISTORY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT LGBTQ+ JOURNALISTS HAVE HAD TO AL WH QUTNS ABOUT THEIR ABILY TO VER THEIR OWN MUNY. WHEN MIGUEL WANTED TO REPORT ON THE EARLY DAYS OF THE MARRIAGE EQUALY BATE CALIFORNIA 2004, THERE WAS SOME QUTN ABOUT WHETHER HE, AS A GAY JOURNALIST, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO VER THE STORY AT ALL. HIS TV NEWSROOM CID THAT “HAVG SOMEBODY WH TIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ‘OTHER SI,’ SO TO SPEAK, WAS MORE BENEFICIAL THAN HARMFUL,” HE SAID, AND MIGUEL WAS ALLOWED TO VER THE STORY. BUT WASN’T EASY. HE AND A LBIAN PHOTOGRAPHER NDUCTED AN TERVIEW WH A LAWMAKER SACRAMENTO WHO WAS OPPOSED TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. THE PAIR TRIED TO BRACE THEMSELV; THEY KNEW THE POLICIAN WAS LIKELY TO SAY SOME HATEFUL THGS ABOUT GAY PEOPLE. THE NVERSATN LEFT A MARK, AND THEY SPENT THE DRIVE BACK TO SAN FRANCIS PROCSG WHAT THEY HAD HEARD. “LOOKG BACK, I N SAY WAS TRMATIC,” MIGUEL SAID. DES LATER, HE STILL VERS PLENTY OF LGBTQ+ TOPICS, AND STILL FAC QUTNS ABOUT HOW BT TO HANDLE THEM. “IT’S NONSTOP, PECIALLY NSIRG WHAT’S HAPPENG TO OUR TRANS FOLKS,” HE SAID. HE WORKS WH EDORS AND PRODUCERS TO MAKE SURE LANGUAGE IS ACCURATE, AND THAT ALL SOURC ARE TREATED WH RPECT. “IT’S THE BURN OF BEG THE GAY PERSON THE NEWSROOM,” MIGUEL SAID. “YOU BEE THE ROURCE FOR EVERYONE ELSE.” BUT EVEN WH SUPPORTIVE MANAGERS, AND A GROWG POPULATN OF OPENLY LGBTQ+ REPORTERS, QUTNS LGER ABOUT HOW TO APPROACH SOME STORI. ‘ALL WE N DO IS RM PEOPLE WHAT THE FACTS ARE’
When Miguel wanted to report on the early days of the marriage equaly bate California 2004, there was some qutn about whether he, as a gay journalist, should be allowed to ver the story at all. The pair tried to brace themselv; they knew the polician was likely to say some hateful thgs about gay people. “It’s the burn of beg the gay person the newsroom, ” Miguel said.
“It mak me sad bee I thk somethg like 70% of the Amerin public supports gay marriage, ” she said. Sos and Lang were both staff wrers at Into, the natnal LGBTQ outlet associated wh the gay datg app Grdr, and they pched the story bee they believed Anchorage was a bellwether. Sos and Lang foc on trans people while cludg the stori of straight and gay alli, who all rallied together to feat the ballot measure.
Raquel Willis took the helm as executive edor at Out magaze, a gay fashn and liftyle magaze, and trans journalists now have a proment llective prence on Twter, a private Facebook group, and var other private works.
'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY
In the past the outlet foced predomantly on whe gay men but has recently hired a new edorial staff that leans heavily toward trans, women, and people of lor. Rearchers at the stute surveyed 935 lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer adults May 2021, more than a year to a panmic that has dispted so many workplac. ” Another rponnt, a gay man Oh, relled a boss who treated him “horribly.
“Adults should be able to earn a livg and pursue a votn knowg that they will not be fired, moted, or mistreated bee of whom they go home to or bee how they drs do not nform to sex-based stereotyp, ” he said the Friday, a feral judge Charlotte, North Carola, led a Catholic high school uldn’t fire a gay drama teacher after he announced his engagement on Facebook. BuzzFeed ma out big this year at the Natnal Lbian and Gay Journalists Associatn's Excellence Journalism Awards.
The outlet is home to proment gay journalist Chris Geidner -- who won NLGJA's Journalist of the Year award last year -- as well as Saeed Jon, who vered LGBT issu for the se before beg s lerary edor.