FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 4, 2018
PRESS CONTACT: Dillon Lewis
Press@nlgja.org or 202-588-9888
WASHINGTON, DC – NLGJA – The Association of LGBTQ Journalists is pleased to announce that Entertainment Weekly Editor-in-Chief Henry Goldblatt is the recipient of the 2018 Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage. Goldblatt will accept the award at NLGJA’s annual L.A. Exclusive benefit event in Los Angeles on June 1.
“I’m humbled and incredibly flattered to be receiving an award named after Lisa Ben, a pioneer in LGBTQ journalism,” said Goldblatt. “It’s a ‘pinch-me-is-this-real?’ dream to work at Entertainment Weekly and to have the honor of telling the stories of the talented members of our community.”
The NLGJA Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage is presented each year to a journalist whose body of work is distinguished by insight and impact through engaging features on LGBTQ individuals, the LGBTQ community or LGBTQ issues. The award is named for the pseudonym Edythe Eyde used for her pioneering publication, Vice Versa. Eyde was the inaugural recipient of the award and past winners have included Marc Malkin, Diane Anderson-Minshall and Cyd Zeigler.
Since taking charge as editor-in-chief of Entertainment Weekly (EW) in 2015, Goldblatt has accelerated the brand’s embrace of LGBTQ performers, characters, writers, storylines and the creative people behind them. EW publishes an annual LGBTQ special issue that in 2017 included features on RuPaul, up-and-coming LGBTQ digital stars and the 25 greatest LGBTQ moments in pop culture from the past 25 years, among others. One week later, EW’s cover story explored “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” Recently, Entertainment Weekly partnered with PEOPLE and GLSEN to produce “Coming Out Stories,” a video series that shares real-life stories to complement the release of the coming-of-age film, “Love, Simon.” So far this year, Entertainment Weekly has produced profiles of transgender Chilean actress Daniela Vega’s star turn in the Oscar-nominated “A Fantastic Woman,” and Alan Cumming’s groundbreaking lead role as a gay detective in the new TV series “Instinct,” as well as an analysis of why “Brokeback Mountain” lost the 2005 Academy Award for Best Picture. Entertainment Weekly’s inclusive diversity across print and digital formats regularly puts LGBTQ individuals and the community out front in the cultural landscape.
Goldblatt was named editor-in-chief of Entertainment Weekly in 2015, where he previously served as the brand’s deputy managing editor and director of brand development. As editor-in-chief, Goldblatt is responsible for editorial oversight of EW’s print and digital content. In 2014, Goldblatt was named deputy editor of PEOPLE, where he provided editorial oversight to all brand extensions, ran the magazine’s front-of- book sections and managed staffing, budgets and publishing/editorial collaborations. A 20-year veteran of Time Inc., Henry Goldblatt began his career as a reporter at Fortune, where he wrote about the media business and ran the magazine’s news coverage. In 2002, he moved to EW and was instrumental in integrating the brand’s print and digital editorial operations. Goldblatt earned a Bachelor’s from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. Goldblatt was named one of Columbia Journalism Review’s “Ten Young Editors to Watch” and won a New England Press Association award for articles on AIDS awareness.
L.A. Exclusive will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on June 1 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 North McCadden Place. NLGJA board member Senta Scarborough will serve as this year’s chair. Join NLGJA for cocktails and conversation in support of fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues in the media. Registration is available online at www.nlgja.org.
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About NLGJA – The Association of LGBTQ Journalists:
NLGJA is an organization of journalists, news executives, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBTQ issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members. For more information, visit www.nlgja.org.