The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association ( NLGJA ) will hold its National Convention and 10th LGBT Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago August 21through August 24 with a full lineup. This annual event marks the 22nd year the organization has brought together journalists, news executives and communications professionals to build skills, network and engage in a lively and engaging discussion on the topic of fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues in the news media.
The four-day assembly will begin with the LGBT Media Summit on Thursday, August 21 and three boot camps, followed by two full days of programming with more than 30 workshops designed to address the needs of journalists and those in the communication industry. The convention also will include Connect: the NLGJA Student Journalism Project, the Women's Networking Dinner, NLGJA's Excellence in Journalism Awards and numerous other learning and networking opportunities.
NBA Brooklyn Nets player Jason Collins will be among the headliners at this year's convention, sharing his experiences in dealing with the news media after coming out after the end of the 2012-2013 season. Among this year's notable speakers will be Chris Gajilan, National Emmy and Gracie Allen Individual Achievement Award-winning "Oprah" producer. She will discuss how to land the big get at "The Art of the Interview". Melissa Bell, founder of Vox Media, will address attendees at the "Digging Deeper with Digital Media" boot camp. Craig Dellimore, political editor at WBBM Newsradio, will lead "The Center of the Universe: Chicago and Politics"and implications for election news coverage in a live airing of the station's "At Issue" program.
"We believe this year's convention is going to be one of the best ever," said Jen Christensen, NLGJA president and a CNN producer. "Chicago is a perfect location for staging the event given how central it is to issues driving the news both literally and figuratively. In addition, we are excited about innovative new programming we are introducing."
There are two new additions to the convention this year; a slate of boot camps focused on marketing, communications and business skills and the Michael Triplett Speaker Series on the intersection between religion and the LGBT community. Both are available to the public.
The boot camps will be held August 21 and will focus on the following subjects: "The Write Stuff: How to Write a Book Proposal that Sells Without Selling Out," "Digging Deeper with Digital Media" and "The Business of Me: Innovative Ways to Build Your Personal Brand or Business."
The convention will also feature StoryCorps, which will collect the various stories of NLGJA's members through the years and the organization's impact and for possible inclusion in a StoryCorps OutLoud segment. StoryCorps is a national nonprofit organization that records the stories of everyday people and preserves them at the Library of Congress, with selected stories broadcast on NPR.
To register for the NLGJA National Convention and LGBT Media Summit and to stay updated on the latest speaker and programming news, please visit: www.nlgja.org .
LGBT Media Summit
Following is the LGBT media summit, co-chaired by Tracy Baim of Windy City Times and Diane Anderson-Minshall of Here Media:
Thursday, August 21, 2014 | The LGBT Media Summit
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Convention Registration
8:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Plenary Session: Transgender Journalists and Transgender Coverage in LGBT Media
PANEL: Christina Kahrl, Gretchen Rachel Blickensderfer, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Parker Molloy
MODERATOR: Fiona Dawson
10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Breakout Sessions:
a. Out On the Air: LGBT Journalists Working in Every Audio Platform From Podcasts to Web-Based and Traditional Radio
Both traditional radio and online efforts are represented on this panel about being LGBT on the airwaves. Speaking are Fausto Fernos of Feast of Fun, Scott Duff on WCPT's Out Chicago, Art Sims of WVON and Anna DeShawn from her online radio program.
PANELISTS: Fausto Fernos, Scott Duff, Art Sims, Anna DeShawn
MODERATOR: Cathy Renna
d. The Future of Lesbian Media
This panel will look at the history of lesbians in LGBT and lesbian-only media, and address the visibility of lesbians in the media today, both in traditional and online media. Panelists are Trish Bendix of AfterEllen has written for numerous media outlets, as has Sarah Toce of The Seattle Lesbian. Tracy Baim is co-founder and publisher of Windy City Times, and Diane Anderon-Minshall is the editor of The Advocate.
PANELISTS: Sarah Toce, Trish Bendix, Tracy Baim.
MODERATOR: Diane Anderson-Minshall
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch plenary: The Future of Journalism Funding: Foundation Funding with the Ford Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Knight foundation
This panel will address the growing need for foundation support of both mainstream and alternative journalism, in order to fund investigative and public interest journalism projects. Experts from Ford, McCormick and Knight will discuss their experience in funding journalism, and will address questions about how LGBT media can get support from the foundation world.
PANELISTS: Mark Hallet from McCormick, Barbara Raab from Ford; John Bracken from Knight Foundation
MODERATOR: Cheryl Corley from NPR
1:45 p.m. - 3 p.m. Breakout Sessions:
a. Taking Back HIV Reporting in LGBT Media
HIV Plus editor in chief Diane Anderson-Minshall leads a panel discussion on HIV and AIDS reporting 33 years after the epidemic began, where we failed and how we need to now approach the issues in LGBT media, as well as what are the primary questions journalists should be asking in 2014 and beyond.
PANELISTS: Todd Heywood; Jeff Berry; Johnathon Briggs
MODERATOR: Diane Anderson-Minshall, editor in chief of HIV Plus magazine and editor at large of The Advocate magazine
b. LGBT Issues, Athletes and Journalists in Sports Reporting
Coverage of LGBT sports issues in LGBT and mainstream media is the focus of this panel discussion. The panel includes Christina Kahrl, a nationally published mainstream sports journalist, including for ESPN.com; Kate Fagan, a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine; Michele Garcia of The Advocate; and Ross Forman of Windy City Times.
PANELISTS: Christina Kahrl, Kate Fagan, Michelle Garcia and Ross Forman
MODERATOR: Chuck Colbert
c: Online and Connected: Bloggers, Digital Natives, Social Media, Mobile Reporting and the Future of Journalism
As the first generation of digital natives become readers, journalism is heading in new directions, including web-only reporters, hybrid blog journalism, mobile-first reporting (which is lagging for LGBT media, any ideas why?) and social engagement reporting (reporting on the news 140 characters at a time).
PANELISTS: Noah Michelson/Huffington Post's Gay Voices; Zeke Stokes/Media Matters; Michael Crawford/Freedom to Marry
3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions
a. Black, LGBT, and Read All Over: African-American Journalists in LGBT Media
Longtime LGBT media pioneer Alan Bell, founder of Gaysweek in New York, and BLK nationally, is joined by other African American gay journalists with years of experience covering the LGBT community for local, regional and international media outlets. They will look at issues of coverage, inclusion, and diversity in the pages of LGBT media. Andrew Davis is managing editor of Windy City Times, Rod McCullom is an internationally published journalist, and Kirk Williamson is managing editor of Nightspots magazine.
PANELISTS: Alan Bell, Andrew Davis, Lenox Magee
MODERATOR: Kirk Williamson
b. Young Journalists, J-School, and the LGBT Media
Who does the LGBT media recruit J-school graduates, working with schools around internships, what are young LGBT journalists looking for after grad, and as importantly, how can we help student journalists better cover LGBT issues, student chapters of NLGJA?
PANELISTS: Camille Beredjick, GLSEN & Medill Equal Media Project; Derrick Clifton, Kaitlyn Jakola, all students or recent graduates of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism
MODERATOR: Zach Wichter
c. How We Count: Data Reporting and LGBT Issues.
Data used to be in short supply on LGBT issues but now we are drowning in data, not only from traditional news sources like surveys but also from news organizations' and social media's measures of audience engagement. Whether you are a reporter or news consumer, this workshop led by Associated Press New York Bureau Chief Howard Goldberg will help you find and understand numbers that are valid and meaningful and avoid accuracy pitfalls.
WORKSHOP LEADER: Howard Goldberg/ Associated Press New York Bureau Chief
