North Carolina has over 380,000 people who identify somewhere in the LGBTQ+ rainbow, and in recent years, the state has come under fire for passing multiple controversial policies regarding queer issues. Whenever the North Carolina legislature — or any government entity — approves new laws or proposes new policy, journalists and others in the media are the ones to convey the information to the public.
Some of those journalists are a part of the LGBTQ+ community themselves, and at a time where the legislature has turned its sights to queer rights, these reporters’ perspectives and platforms are more important than ever. They provide a unique perspective and voice in the news world and help others in their newsrooms better understand what the consequences of policies could be, as well as how it will impact LGBTQ+ North Carolinans.
Qnotes has collected a list of five different LGBTQ+ journalists and media personalities who continue to play an integral role in keeping North Carolinians informed on what’s happening in their own communities.
Ben Thompson — WCNC
Ben Thompson is a news anchor for WCNC in the morning on “Wake Up Charlotte” and afternoons on “WCNC Charlotte Midday.” He also hosts a political affairs podcast known as “Flashpoint.” He is, as far as we know, the only out and openly gay anchor in Charlotte. He shares a home in the McCrory Heights neighborhood near uptown with his husband Brad and their Burmadoodle named Scout, after a character with the same name from the novel and film “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Thompson was featured in Qnotes’ Our People column recently, where he talked about his identity and how it impacts the way he covers the news.
“I know I’m lucky because I get to make a living doing something I love and I don’t take that for granted,” he told Qnotes last year. “Part of our mission at WCNC is seeking solutions and representing the community, and that includes the LGBTQ community.”
When asked about how people have reacted to him as an openly gay news anchor, Thompson said the viewers in Charlotte have mostly welcomed him with open arms.
“I’ve received letters from mothers – who have children that identify as being part of the LGBTQ community – thanking me for what I do and who I am,” Thompson explained. “I think a lot of people feel that diversity and inclusion is political, but it’s not. It’s criminal not to have those diverse voices. Diversity makes us all stronger.”
Miguel Fuller HITS 96.1
Miguel Fuller is a radio personality on the “Miguel & Holly” show on Charlotte top-forty radio station HITS 96.1, part of the national iHeartMedia Company. Fuller is an openly gay man who previously worked in Tampa Bay for the same show he does in Charlotte.
When it was announced Fuller and his co-host Holly O’ Connor would be coming to Charlotte, Fuller said he was excited to make connections with the community.
“I am so thankful that [we] get to continue to work together and host a morning show that will bring new, fun and genuine energy to The Queen City every morning,” he said. “[I’m] so excited to get to Charlotte and help shine a spotlight on the community like we did in Tampa Bay.”
In a 2018 interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal (TBBJ) Fuller talked about his experiences as a gay man and community advocate, while working as a morning show co-host at a local radio station with O’Connor.
“I worked with the local gay and lesbian club to get them to advertise on the radio, which was the first time that had taken place in the Panhandle,” he said in the interview. “I also mentored gay and lesbian high school students.”
Tampa Bay Watermark voted him as the area’s favorite local radio personality; and he was among a group of key community members that helped select the new executive director of St. Pete Pride.
It is clear Fuller takes pride with what he was able to accomplish through his role in radio there, as well as being comfortable and strong with his identity.
“By involving other radio stations … I was able to have deep, meaningful conversations with different demographics of listeners about the LGBTQ+ community in Tampa Bay,” he told TBBJ. “[And] it has been a true honor through the years to receive messages from kids … in school telling me they were able to come out to their parents because [they] listened to me and had become more accepting of gays and lesbians.”
Tonya Jameson
Tonya Jameson is a regular contributor for Qnotes and a former columnist for The Charlotte Observer. Most recently, Tonya served as associate producer for the MSNBC series “What’s Eating America” that explored the most provocative social and political issues impacting voters through the lens of food.
Jameson is a veteran force for change in Charlotte — with more than 20 years of professional storytelling experience, she developed trusted relationships based on her integrity and determination.
Now, Jameson serves as the director of civic engagement for Leading on Opportunity and is working to better economic mobility across Mecklenburg County. She is also on the Citizens Review Board, which accepts and investigates complaints of law enforcement misconduct.
Sharif Durhams
Sharif Durhams is from Raleigh, North Carolina. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill and was the first Black editor-in-chief of The Daily Tar Heel, where he oversaw news coverage on the Bill Clinton impeachment and the Columbine shooting.
Durhams served as the managing editor for The News & Observer in Raleigh and The Herald-Sun in Durham before he became the senior editor of digital global programming at CNN. He went on to become the deputy managing editor at The Washington Post and was elected as the first Black president of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists in 2018.
“Just because I’m Black, that doesn’t mean I understand issues that are going on in particular communities,” Durhams said in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel. “But by studying them, and by following reporters who are intensely focused on those groups, that actually informs my reporting and the editing that I’m able to do.”
Durhams is now the managing editor at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he focuses on “the intersections between politics and culture in Georgia, as well as expand The AJC’s coverage to reach communities not covered before,” according to reporting from The Daily Tar Heel.
Nick de la Canal
Nick de la Canal is an out journalist for WFAE in Charlotte, where he hosts the Weekend Edition and works to report stories that matter to residents. According to his profile on the WFAE website, the Charlotte native joined the newsroom in 2013 as an intern and has stayed with the station since.
He has covered a wide range of beats for the radio station, including government, transportation, arts and culture and more. In 2023, de la Canal received a first place award from the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas for his reporting on North Carolina’s anti-trans legislation.
Kyle Ingram
Kyle Ingram is an openly gay journalist for the News & Observer in Raleigh and a 2023 graduate from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill. Ingram recently joined the N&O staff as its politics reporter, where he has covered the General Assembly and its legislative sessions.
“I think being an openly LGBTQ reporter is an asset in this field,” Ingram told Qnotes in an email. “When lawmakers introduce legislation dealing with the LGBTQ community, we [know] more than anyone … what impact that could have on youth and parents.”
Ingram said as LGBTQ+ issues have taken center state in the North Carolina General Assembly, he was among some of the reporters covering the passage of laws like the Parents’ Bill of Rights and the healthcare ban for transgender minors. He said his perspective allowed the N&O’s coverage to provide a deeper understanding of the policies’ impact on queer North Carolinians.
“I didn’t cover every single development in these laws, but I did have the opportunity to give insight to my colleagues who covered these issues,” he said.
Ingram went on to say a great resource for navigating the journalism world as an out man is The Association of LGBTQ Journalists (NLGJA), something he said has been very beneficial for his career.
“I attended their convention in Chicago in 2022 and met some amazing journalists from across the country who gave me a lot of needed advice as an early-career reporter.”
Although they remain a smaller percentage, more LGBTQ+ people — along with people from other marginalized groups — are turning to journalism as a career, and Ingram said it’s making covering the news more objective and comprehensive.
“As queer people, we have personal experience with how the news can affect people like us, so we know what mistakes to avoid and what stories to pursue,” he offered. “I don’t specifically cover LGBTQ issues as my designated beat, but I’m keenly aware of how developments in state politics can affect members of the community. That knowledge is essential in this field and makes our reporting more responsive to the communities we cover.”