WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2021) — Today, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists announced the recipients of its 2021 Excellence in Journalism Awards and recognized exemplary work produced in 2020. The highest individual awards, Journalist of the Year and Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ Journalist of the Year, have been awarded to Rachel Savage and Ken Schneck, respectively.
"After a year unlike any other, our judges were extremely impressed by the quality of this year's nominations," NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists President Sharif Durhams said. "We received hundreds of worthy nominations, and the selection process was a difficult one. We offer a heartfelt congratulations to all of the winners, and are grateful for the work that they are doing to cover our communities."
The NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Excellence in Journalism Awards were established in 1993 to foster, recognize and reward excellence in journalism on issues related to the LGBTQ community.
The Al Neuharth Award for Innovation in Investigative Journalism was presented to Mark Albert, April Chunko, Travis Sherwin, HyoJung Kim, Tyler Robinson and Andrew Vrees of Hearst Television.
The 2021 NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists Excellence in Journalism Awards recipients are:
Special Recognition Awards:
Journalist of the Year Award
Rachel Savage
Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ Journalist of the Year Award
Ken Schneck
The Al Neuharth Award for Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award
Mark Albert, April Chunko, Travis Sherwin, HyoJung Kim, Tyler Robinson and Andrew Vrees for "Sucked In: America's Vaping Epidemic", Hearst Television stations
Print/Online Awards:
Excellence in Book Writing Award
Loren Ghiglione, Alyssa Karas and Dan Tham for "Genus Americanus: Hitting the Road in Search of America's Identity", University of Georgia Press
Excellence in Feature Writing Award
Nico Lang for "Matthew Shepard Died 22 Years Ago. Wyoming Still Doesn't Have a Hate Crimes Law", them.
Excellence in Feature Writing, Non-Daily Award
Jordan Michael Smith for "Ex AOL VP Spent 30 years investigating brother's gruesome murder", Business Insider
Excellence in Long Form Journalism Award
Lauren Rowello and Nico Lang for "'A Perfect Storm': What The Death Of Tatiana Hall Reminds Us About Black Trans Lives Today", BuzzFeed
Excellence in Newswriting Award
Muri Assuncao for "Vogue class on Instagram led by 'Pose' actor raises funds for LGBTQ groups serving community during coronavirus crisis", New York Daily News
Excellence in Newswriting, Non-Daily Award
Jazmine Hughes for "Learning to Swim Taught Me More Than I Bargained for", The New York Times Magazine
Excellence in Photojournalism Award
Yi-Chin Lee for "About a Boy", Houston Chronicle
Excellence in Profile Writing Award
Benjamin Ryan for "New disease, no treatment, no cure': how Anthony Fauci's fight against Aids prepared him for Covid-19", The Guardian
Excellence in Sports Writing Award
Dana Hunsinger Benbow for "49ers' Katie Sowers lost college coaching job because she's gay, moved on to Super Bowl", Indianapolis Star
Excellence in Student Journalism Award
Isabella Viola Yao Gomes for "Healthcare Providers Are Missing Chances to Help Victims of Sex Trafficking", Johns Hopkins Public Health Magazine (in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting)
Excellence in Travel Writing Award
Michael Luongo for "Despite Everything, People Still Have Weddings at 'Plantation' Sites", New York Times
Digital Awards:
Excellence in Blogging Award
Wren Sanders for "Unpacking Kamala Harris's Record on Trans and Sex Work Issues", them.
Excellence in Digital Video Award
Brock Stoneham, Kate Sosin and Mike Basilico for "Assault, retaliation and abuse: Life as a transgender woman in a men's prison", NBC News Digital
Excellence in Multimedia Award
Alex Biese for "National Coming Out Day 2020: LGBTQ community members share stories of struggle, triumph", Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network Mid-Atlantic region
Excellence in Online Journalism Award
Kate Sosin, Brock Stoneham, Jiachuan Wu, Robin Muccari and Jeremia Kimelman for "Trans, imprisoned — and trapped", NBC News Digital
Editorial Awards:
Excellence in Column Writing Award
Timothy Hedden for "Masks stop coronavirus. Getting AIDS showed me the stupidity of not wearing them.", NBC News Think
Excellence in Opinion/Editorial Writing Award
Robert W. Fieseler for "OPINION: History shows us why the fight for LGBTQ equality is far from over", ABC News
Broadcast Awards:
Excellence in Documentary Award
POV for "We Are the Radical Monarchs", PBS
Excellence in Local Television Award
Sean Lewis for "Windy City Times -30-", WGN-TV
Excellence in Network Television Award
Ricardo Cortez for "Hitmakers: Teddy Geiger", TODAY & NBC News Custom Productions
Excellence in Podcasts Award
Sam Sanders, Jordana Hochman, Jinae West, Anjuli Sastry and Andrea Gutierrez for "It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders", NPR, It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders
Excellence in Radio Award
Ryan Warner, Carl Bilek and Sonya Doctorian for "Ken Felts Came Out At 90 Years Old, And His Story Went Viral", Colorado Public Radio and cpr.org
Coverage Awards:
Excellence in Bisexual Coverage Award
Nico Lang for "The Woman Who Could Be America's First Openly Bisexual Mayor Is Already Facing Biphobic Attacks", them.
Excellence in Business Coverage Award
Nico Lang, Samantha Allen, Michelle Kim, Michael Cuby, James Factora, Daniel Villareal, Matt Baume, Sophie Hurwitz, Marke B., Alexander Cheves, K.C. Hoard, Steven Blum and Devlyn Camp for "Queer Spaces Project", them.
Excellence in Education Coverage Award
Leslie Postal, Annie Martin and Kate Santich for "Anti-LGBTQ Florida schools getting vouchers", Orlando Sentinel
Excellence in Food Coverage Award
Bill Whitaker, Sara Kuzmarov and Steven Tyler for "Sunday Morning: What's Cooking? (Dominique Crenn)", CBS
Excellence in Health or Fitness Coverage Award
Finbarr Toesland for "Coronavirus restrictions highlight LGBTQ domestic abuse crisis", NBC OUT/NBC News
Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage Award
Arvin Joaquin for "Inside the second wave of the HIV epidemic in the Philippines", Xtra Magazine
Excellence in International Coverage Award
Zeyi Yang for "Two Gay Chinese Dads. One Long and Winding Trip to Fatherhood.", Narratively
Excellence in Legal Coverage Award
Michelle Allan for "Coverage of Canadian conversion therapy legislation", The Globe and Mail
Excellence in Nonbinary and Gender Nonconforming Coverage Award
Jake Wittich for "After Lurie Children's Pledges To Stop Surgeries On Intersex Kids, Activists Urge Other Hospitals To Follow", Block Club Chicago
Excellence in Political Coverage Award
Samantha Allen for "A More Perfect Union: The Queer Candidates Fighting for Our Democracy", them.
Excellence in QPOC Coverage Award
Joshua Johnson for "Pride + Protest: Being Black and Queer in America", NBC News NOW
Excellence in Religion Coverage Award
Nico Lang for "The Biggest Mormon School in the U.S. Now Says Queer Students Can Date—Maybe", Vice Magazine
Excellence in Theatre Coverage Award
Jim Farmer for "Appreciation: Atlanta Colleagues Remember puppeteer Bobby Box for his laugh, zest", ArtsATL.com
Excellence in Transgender Coverage Award
Kate Sosin, Brock Stoneham, Jiachuan Wu, Robin Muccari and Jeremia Kimelman for "Trans, imprisoned — and trapped", NBC News Digital
About NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists
NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists is a journalist-led association working within the news media to advance fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ communities and issues. We promote diverse and inclusive workplaces by holding the industry accountable and providing education, professional development and mentoring. For more information, visit www.nlgja.org .
