NBC Agrees to Policy of Nondiscrimination for LGBT Employees
After meeting with NLGJA, NBC News reaffirms in a memo to employees its policy not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. NLGJA now has 13 chapters
First National Convention
At NLGJA’s first national convention, 300 lesbian and gay journalists meet in San Francisco, many out for the first time. In a videotaped message, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., promises that the Times will offer domestic partners benefits.
First Edition of Alternatives
The first edition of Alternatives, the NLGJA newsletter, is published. Roy Aarons calls it “a major milestone in our yearlong effort to get this organization off the ground.” The editorial staff of the newsletter includes Shannon Hickey, Warren Pederson and Kate...
NLGJA Founded
IN THE BEGINNING… The American Society of Newspaper Editors announces the results of its first-ever survey of gay and lesbian journalists at American newspapers. The survey’s coordinator, then-Oakland Tribune executive editor Roy Aarons, reveals he is gay. The study, “Alternatives: Gays and Lesbians in the Newsroom,” indicates newsrooms harbor “palpable undercurrent of bias.” In 1990, only one newspaper, the Village Voice, offers domestic partners benefits.
Spurred by the ASNE survey, lesbian and gay journalists begin to organize. Aarons gathers five other journalists in his Piedmont, California home to found the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.