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News
Release April
12, 2006
NLGJA
News > News Releases > April 12, 2006
Journalists Attacked
on Vacation in St. Maarten – Apparent
Victims of Gay Bashing
WASHINGTON,
DC – The
National Lesbian & Gay
Journalists Association (NLGJA) today
extends wishes for a speedy recovery
to two journalists attacked while
on vacation in the Caribbean island
of St. Maarten.
NLGJA member Dick Jefferson, 51, and Ryan Smith, 25, both journalists
with CBS News in New York, were outside a bar with several friends
April 6, when three men started hitting them with tire irons.
The men were airlifted to Miami for medical treatment. Jefferson
has since been released, and says that Smith has since been moved
from intensive care. Jefferson says that Smith was severely beaten
and his doctors believe he may have suffered brain damage.
Jefferson, a senior broadcast producer for CBS' national evening
news, said the attackers yelled anti-gay slurs at his friends
earlier in the evening. He plans to return to St. Maarten Friday
to meet with the US Consul General and local authorities, in an
effort to advance the investigation.
He also hopes both mainstream and LGBT media report this story,
which he feels could be of concern to tourists, both LGBT and
straight, who visit the island each year.
Jefferson
says, “I love the people of St.
Maarten. But this is their problem,
not my problem. Tourists will stay away
until someone saves this island.”
Both LGBT and mainstream media has reported this story. Here
are links to some of the coverage:
NLGJA has a number of online resources
to assist journalists in covering LGBT
people and issues. Access our Stylebook
Supplement on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Terminology and
our Journalists Toolbox.
The
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association
(NLGJA) is an organization of journalists,
media professionals, educators
and students who work within the news
industry to foster fair and accurate
coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender issues. NLGJA opposes
all forms of workplace bias and provides professional
development to its members. Media Contacts:
Tom Avila
Deputy Executive Director
Office Phone: 202-588-9888, ext. 17
Cell: 202-906-9885
tavila@nlgja.org
Eric Hegedus
National President
Cell: 215-840-3909
ehegedus@gmail.com |
