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Pride Coverage Primer
Resources > Pride Coverage Primer

Rethinking Pride

June is Pride month in the LGBT community, which means you'll likely find a related coverage piece on your newsroom's story agenda in the coming weeks.

While the entertainment value of Cher impersonators and brigades of "dykes on bikes" surely makes for great A1 art, we invite you to dig a little deeper this Pride season. Move beyond the feather boas and delve into the real stories of the LGBT community.

There is no better time to examine your newsroom's coverage of LGBT people and issues. Is the correct terminology being used across the board? Is an important issue being consistently glazed over simply because people are scared to get it wrong?

Included in this Pride Primer are NLGJA resources designed to help you and your newsroom improve the LGBT coverage already being done, as well as to offer some story ideas free for the pitching.

Get in the (Local) Loop

The first thing you need to do is figure out when and where Pride events are taking place in your area. Check out the extensive schedule at InterPride, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting Pride on an international level.

Also, if you're seeking sources in your area, consider reaching out to one of NLGJA's chapters. Not only can they get you connected within the local LGBT (and NLGJA) community, but they can also help brainstorm story ideas and answer general LGBT coverage questions.

Brush Up on Your L's, B's, G's & T's

NLGJA's Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology
"Gay marriage" or "marriage rights for same-sex couples?" Is there anything wrong with referring to an "alternative lifestyle?" Are the words "queer" and "transvestite" ever acceptable? Available in both English and Spanish, NLGJA's Stylebook Supplement on LGBT Terminology answers these questions and also provides contact information for dozens of LGBT community organizations.

NLGJA's Journalists Toolbox
No journalist would cover a professional tennis match without getting an education in backhands, foot faults and player rankings. But some step into the world of LGBT people without taking the time to know what they're reporting about. NLGJA's Journalists Toolbox is designed to provide information and strategies to journalists who find themselves seeking creative, unique and accurate means of covering the LGBT community.

NLGJA's Newsroom Outreach Project
Sometimes experience is the best teacher. The Newsroom Outreach Project brings NLGJA members out of their newsrooms and into yours. Through interactive discussions and face-to-face meetings with newsroom leaders, our members will share some of the techniques they use to achieve diversity on a deadline.

Find The Real Stories

Need some help thinking outside the box? See our list of topical ideas and issues to consider this Pride season. NLGJA members have tackled many of these stories and topics in their own reporting. We are happy to refer you to appropriate coverage and direct you to members and experts who could serve as resources. Please contact NLGJA Director of Communications & Marketing Jason Lloyd Clement at 202-588-9888, ext. 12 or jlclement@nlgja.org.