News Release September 7, 2005
NLGJA News > News Releases > September 7, 2005

NLGJA Announces 2005 Excellence in Journalism Award Winners

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) today announced this year’s recipients of its national Excellence in Journalism Awards – including its Journalist of the Year honor to be presented to Meredith May with the San Francisco Chronicle.

All awards will be presented in Chicago on Saturday evening, September 24, 2005 during the association’s 15th Anniversary Gala Dinner. Los Angeles based television personality Steve Kmetko will emcee the ceremony. “This year’s competition was among our finest,” noted NLGJA President Eric Hegedus. “Our judges faced a tremendous challenge in selecting the best of the best among a growing number of entries. We are especially proud of all honorees and the other excellent candidates.”

The NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards were established in 1993 to foster, recognize and reward excellence in journalism on issues related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. In addition to Journalist of the Year, awards will be presented for HIV/AIDS Coverage, Written News, Written Feature, Written Opinion/Editorial, Radio, Television, Photojournalism, New Media, LGBT Media and Student Journalism.

The NLGJA Journalist of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding professional achievements of an LGBT journalist and member of NLGJA. Meredith May, Reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle will accept this award of distinction on September 24 in Chicago.

Since joining the Chronicle staff in 1999, May has written narrative features, breaking news, investigative pieces and has covered topics ranging from public education to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece. In 2004, May wrote “Operation Lion Heart,” the powerful four-part narrative tale of a 9-year-old Iraqi boy who was maimed in an explosion and flown to the Bay Area for treatment. The story captivated readers and helped reunite the boy and his family and won the national SPJ award for feature writing.

“NLGJA chose to honor Meredith May to express our profound respect for an excellent story-teller and craftsperson,” said NLGJA President Eric Hegedus. “Meredith May also honors us as a dedicated member of NLGJA and a role model for outstanding feature writing and coverage.”

The NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards include $500 first prizes in ten separate categories (as well as a $1,000 first prize presented in the category of LGBT Media). All other winners receive award citations.

Corporate sponsors for the annual NLGJA Awards are: Hearst Newspapers, Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and John Seigenthaler.

The 2005 NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards winners are:

NLGJA Journalist of the Year Award

• First Place Presented to Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle
• Second Place Presented to Richard Lacayo, TIME Magazine
• Third Place Tie Presented to Andrew Sullivan, TIME Magazine and John Cloud, TIME Magazine

Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Media

• First Place Presented to John Caldwell, The Advocate
• Second Place Presented to Todd Henneman, The Advocate
• Third Place Presented to Eric Jansen, “Out in the Bay,” KALW Radio, San Francisco
  

NLGJA Excellence in News Writing Award, Sponsored by Hearst Newspapers

• First Place Presented to “Court Voids Vows,” Peter Wong, Beth Casper, Gabriela Rico, Tara McLain & Dana Haynes, Statesman Journal
• Second Place Presented to “The Governor’s Secret Life,” John Cloud, TIME Magazine
• Third Place Presented to “An Affair to Regret, ” Michael Isikoff, Evan Thomas, Karen Breslau & Debra Rosenberg, Newsweek
  

NLGJA Excellence in Feature Writing, Sponsored by Hearst Newspapers

• First Place Presented to "Gay in East Texas," Johnny Johnson, The Daily Sentinel
• Second Place Presented to "Love Conquers Law," Jean Scheidnes, Austin American-Statesman
• Third Place Presented to "Gay in Jamaica," Jeff Stratton, New Times Broward/Palm Beach
  

NLGJA Excellence in Writing Award Opinion/Editorial, Sponsored by the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle & Seattle Post-Intelligencer

• First Place Presented to "If at First You Don't Succeed," Andrew Sullivan, TIME Magazine
• Second Place Presented to "Being Gay in America After Nov. 2," Sandip Roy, Pacific News Service
• Third Place Presented to "Editor's Letter 05.05," Walter Armstrong, POZ Magazine
  

NLGJA/Seigenthaler Excellence in Radio

• First Place Presented to "In Limbo: Gay Palestinians," Eric Beauchemin, Radio Netherlands
• Second Place Presented to "A Community Divided," Sarah Varney, The California Report/KQED-FM
• Third Place Tie Presented to "Connection Between Methamphetamine Use and Unprotected Gay Sex," Janet Domowitz, Joe Neel & Ari Shapiro, National Public Radio and to "Vox Humana: Love Exile on the Road," David Swatling, Radio Netherlands
  

NLGJA/Seigenthaler Excellence in Television (Network & Top-5 DMA's)

• First Place Presented to "The Mirror," Ted Koppel, Tom Bettag, Ron Ladd, Dan Morris, & Eric Wray, ABC News, Nightline
• Second Place Presented to "Discharging Gays: Give me a Break!" Iman Hobbs, Kristina Kendall, Martin Phillips, Dori Rosenthal & John Stossel, ABC News, 20/20
• Third Place Presented to "Brother & Sister," Elizabeth Vargas, Alan B. Goldberg, Terri Lichstein, David Sloan & Deborah Apton, ABC News, 20/20
  

NLGJA/Seigenthaler Excellence in Television (DMA 6+)

• First Place Presented to "Finding Donna," Brian Robertson & Laural Porter, KGW-TV, Portland, Oregon
• Second Place Presented to Ken Miguel Composite, Ken Miguel, KGO-TV, San Francisco
• Third Place Presented to "Smith-Mark Family," Josée M. Lapointe, The Needham Channel

NLGJA/RTNDA Excellence in Online Journalism Award

• First Place Presented to "Playing the Culture Card" & "Nader Was Right, " Eleanor Clift, Newsweek.com
• Second Place Presented to "Jeannette's Story," Melinda Henneberger, Newsweek.com
• Third Place Presented to "Dear Dinah…Inside the 15th Annual Dinah Shore Weekend," Julie Albertson, TheDesertSun.com
  

NLGJA Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage Award

• First Place Presented to "Medicine Without Doctors" & "The New Face of AIDS," Geoffrey Cowley & Andrew Murr, Newsweek
• Second Place Presented to "AIDS in India," Brenda Wilson, Gary Covino, Fred de Sam Lazaro & Joe Neel, National Public Radio
• Third Place Presented to "Lost in Paradise," Austin Bunn, POZ Magazine
  

NLGJA Excellence in Student Journalism Award

• First Place Presented to "Regulating Love: The Fight Over Gay Marriage," Steven Valentino, Making Contact, National Radio Project
• Second Place Presented to "Michael Jackson is not the Right Focus for LKI" & "GOP Nightmare: When queer is, well normal," James Kirchick, Yale Daily News
• Third Place Presented to "Here Come the Brides," Jes Burns, Etude Journal of Literary Nonfiction

Tickets for the September 24 ceremony to be held at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago are available for $75 and may be purchased by e-mailing jlclement@nlgja.org or calling 202-588-9888, ext. 12. The reception begins at 6:00 pm CT with the awards ceremony at 8:00 pm CT.

Media Contact:

Pamela Strother
Executive Director
Office: 202-588-9888, ext. 11
Mobile: 202-486-5990
pstrother@nlgja.org