LGBTQ Journalism

For many individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, the mainstream news media have historically been viewed with distrust and a belief that interest in their lives fell well beyond the concern of most reporters and editors. This perception was not without grounding. Until the late 20th century, news coverage was often restricted to sensationalized stories focused on salacious details about marginalized lives and illegal sexual behavior. News workers, for many years, were actively discouraged from reporting on the LGBTQ community apart from the occasional crime story, and in many cases, they were outright forbidden to provide coverage that would lend any sense of legitimacy to the community.

While still strained, the relationship between news organizations and members of the LGBTQ community has ...