National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association hosting summit in Chicago
Tue. August 19, 2014 10:14 AM by Andy Ambrosius
The NLGJA is headed to the Windy City for the annual event, co-chaired by Chicago journalists and featuring NBA star Jason Collins.
Chicago, IL -
Hoards of LGBT journalists and media professionals are flocking to Chicago this week as the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) hosts its annual event in the Windy City.
Held at the Palmer House Hilton from Aug. 21-24, the National Convention and 10th LGBT Media Summit is filled with a star-studded lineup. The annual event marks the 22nd year the organization has brought together journalists, news executives and communications professionals to build skills, network and engage on fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues in the news media.
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 producer of Oprah.
And according to Here Media Executive Diane Anderson-Minshall -- who is the editor at large of The Advocate -- NLGJA is important because LGBT journalists are still in a "separate but equal" position. This organization is about supporting gay journalists, and engaging on issues in the community.
"Just 20 years ago it was considered a problem to be a 'gay' journalist, as though you were biased," Anderson-Minshall told ChicagoPride.com. "Now we know that LGBT journalists have been leaders in unpacking some of these huge equality movements happening around work, healthcare, marriage and so on for media outlets who are still struggling with the right language to use, for example."
"We believe this year's convention is going to be one of the best ever," added 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."
Combined with the LGBT Media Summit, three boot camps, and two full days of programming with more than 30 workshops, organizers are adding a series of special boot camps focused on marketing, communications and business skills. Those events are open to the public.
And the media summit itself is co-chaired by Chicago native and NLGJA hall-of-famer Tracy Baim. Currently a publisher at Windy City Times, Baim was one of three individuals named this year in NLGJA's LGBT Journalist Hall of Fame. Baim co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 and Outlines newspaper in 1987.
Together, Baim and her co-chair Anderson-Minshall hope to bring to light some of the leading issues and topics in the LGBT community, including what is on the horizon.
"Certainly with marriage equality rolling through the country — and the recent upset — that will continue to be a big issue," Anderson-Minshall said. "But after this year, and with mainstream media like Time Magazine even asking if this is the transgender tipping point, I expect the big story next year will be around transgender rights — in schools, public and private facilities, in the workplace, and more. Right now, too often we have a limited scope when examining in trans issues, but as more trans children become visible, we've seen their rights, freedoms, and access are really changing how the public, our readers and viewers, are thinking about — many for the first time."
The Media Summit includes speeches from Collins and Gajilan, as well as many others. 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.
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.
Held at the Palmer House Hilton from Aug. 21-24, the National Convention and 10th LGBT Media Summit is filled with a star-studded lineup. The annual event marks the 22nd year the organization has brought together journalists, news executives and communications professionals to build skills, network and engage on fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues in the news media.
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 producer of Oprah.
And according to Here Media Executive Diane Anderson-Minshall -- who is the editor at large of The Advocate -- NLGJA is important because LGBT journalists are still in a "separate but equal" position. This organization is about supporting gay journalists, and engaging on issues in the community.
"Just 20 years ago it was considered a problem to be a 'gay' journalist, as though you were biased," Anderson-Minshall told ChicagoPride.com. "Now we know that LGBT journalists have been leaders in unpacking some of these huge equality movements happening around work, healthcare, marriage and so on for media outlets who are still struggling with the right language to use, for example."
"We believe this year's convention is going to be one of the best ever," added 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."
Combined with the LGBT Media Summit, three boot camps, and two full days of programming with more than 30 workshops, organizers are adding a series of special boot camps focused on marketing, communications and business skills. Those events are open to the public.
And the media summit itself is co-chaired by Chicago native and NLGJA hall-of-famer Tracy Baim. Currently a publisher at Windy City Times, Baim was one of three individuals named this year in NLGJA's LGBT Journalist Hall of Fame. Baim co-founded Windy City Times in 1985 and Outlines newspaper in 1987.
Together, Baim and her co-chair Anderson-Minshall hope to bring to light some of the leading issues and topics in the LGBT community, including what is on the horizon.
"Certainly with marriage equality rolling through the country — and the recent upset — that will continue to be a big issue," Anderson-Minshall said. "But after this year, and with mainstream media like Time Magazine even asking if this is the transgender tipping point, I expect the big story next year will be around transgender rights — in schools, public and private facilities, in the workplace, and more. Right now, too often we have a limited scope when examining in trans issues, but as more trans children become visible, we've seen their rights, freedoms, and access are really changing how the public, our readers and viewers, are thinking about — many for the first time."
The Media Summit includes speeches from Collins and Gajilan, as well as many others. 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.
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.