Two national scholarships are awarded annually to deserving students dedicated to fostering fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues
For Immediate Release: April 15, 2016
Media Contact: Bach Polakowski
Bach@nlgja.org or 202-588-9888
Washington, DC – NLGJA – The Association of LGBT Journalists – announced a call for entries for the Leroy F. Aarons and the Kay Longcope scholarships to honor and advance fair and accurate coverage of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Applications are available online and will be accepted until Tuesday, May 31.
The Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship was established in 2005 in memory of Leroy Aarons, NLGJA’s founder who was a news executive at The Washington Post and The Oakland Tribune. The scholarship in his honor continues his work to foster fair and accurate coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues from within the news industry. Past winners include: Matthew Bloom, Dartunorro Clark, Christopher Carbone, Sharyn Jackson, Mary Susman, Ryan McLendon, Matthew Leung, Colin Dugdale and Dennis Mitchell.
The Kay Longcope Scholarship was established in 2008 in memory of The Boston Globe journalist Kay Longcope, who upon her retirement co-founded the Texas Triangle, a LGBT weekly newspaper. This scholarship supports the education of an LGBT student of color pursuing a career in journalism. Past winners include: Linda Sankat, Mario Montavlo, John-Carlos Estrada, Fenit Nirappil and Carl Gaines.
Applicants must be planning to pursue a career in journalism plus be able to demonstrate their passion and commitment to the profession. Selection will be based on journalistic and scholastic ability. Applicants also must demonstrate an awareness of the issues facing the LGBT community and the importance of fair and accurate news coverage.
NLGJA partners with The Philadelphia Foundation, a community foundation established in 1918, to administer the NLGJA Student Scholarship Fund. The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, a component fund of TPF serving to advance philanthropy within LGBT communities, disburses the scholarship awards on recommendations from NLGJA during each award period.
Scholarship recipients are honored in the spring at the NLGJA New York Benefit, Headlines & Headliners. For more information see www.nlgja.org/headlines-headliners.
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About the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association
NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members. For more information, visit www.nlgja.org.