WASHINGTON, D.C. — NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists held their annual convention from Aug. 29-Sept. 1 in New Orleans, La., with more than 450 journalists, news executives, communications professionals and educators from across the U.S.
During the four-day convention, The Washington Blade was honored with being the inaugural recipient of the NLGJA Legacy Award.
Longtime Miami Herald reporter Steve Rothaus, Recode co-founder Kara Swisher and LGBTQ pioneer Lilli Vincenz were the 2019 inductees in the LGBTQ Journalists Hall of Fame.
Reuters Deputy Managing Editor for Operations Arlyn Gajilan was the recipient of the 2019 NLGJA Leadership Award.
Financial expert Suze Orman headline a plenary session, “Straight Money Talk with Suze Orman,” that gave convention attendees the opportunity to learn from this personal finance expert on including advice specifically tailored to LGBTQ people.
Prior to the convention, the current board voted into their positions their successors for the upcoming term. They will take their oaths of office at the conclusion of the convention. Rick Stuckey of NBC Chicago was elected national board vice president of broadcast. Freelancer Belinda Hernandez was elected national board secretary. Ken Miguel of KGO-TV was re-elected national board treasurer. Erik Hall of USA Today, Karen Hawkins of the Chicago Reader, Bethany Grace Howe of the University of Oregon and Eric Walter of KYW Newsradio were elected at-large directors.
They joined National Board President Sharif Durhams of CNN, National Board Vice President of Print & Online Jen Christensen of CNN and at-large directors Sarah Blazucki of the U.S. Department of Justice, Eric Hegedus of the New York Post, Chris Martin of Bloomberg and Kristina Torres of the University System of Georgia on the board.
Registration for members and non-members for its 2020 event is already available online.
The association was formed in 1991 under the guidance of Roy Aarons and serves as a voice in the news industry, educating newsroom decision-makers about coverage of the LGBTQ community, promoting non-discrimination policies and the establishment of equal benefits, and creating educational opportunities to support the next generation of LGBTQ newsroom leaders. Members can be associated with regional chapters in their area or with the at-large one.
info: nlgja.org/2020.