Our members reveal their LGBTQ+ icons

By Isabelle Truscott

ICONS and the LGBTQ+ community are often synonymous – so many of people’s favourite characters, celebrities, personalities and activists are part of or have links to the community.

Being a queer icon is an honour, and one many of those with the title still with us today wear proudly.

Icons are those who inspire others, who embody self-acceptance, or have incited change for the community and beyond.

The impact of icons can help many in the LGBTQ+ community feel accepted and seen for who they are.

Continue reading “Our members reveal their LGBTQ+ icons”

An LGBTQ+ team is at the heart of the UK’s newest publication

The sustainability of local journalism is a question hot on the lips of journalists and editors right across the industry.

As the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport stated in its report into the aforementioned topic, local journalism has been in decline during the past two decades.

More than 320 local newspaper titles closed between 2009 and 2019, a trend likely to have been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic

In the East Midlands, however, one new title is set to buck the trend.

Continue reading “An LGBTQ+ team is at the heart of the UK’s newest publication”

What LGBT+ History Month means to our members

By Isabelle Truscott

KNOWING about our history is really important, and even more so for the LGBTQ+ community.

For a long time our stories weren’t told, and our successes were kept out of view.

But thanks to LGBTQ+ History Month, these stories are brought into the present and celebrated.

First celebrated in 2005 after being created by Schools OUT co-chairs, Paul Patrick and Sue Sanders, LGBTQ+ History month is marked every February in the UK.

As part of LGBTQ+ History Month we asked our members what this month means to them.

Continue reading “What LGBT+ History Month means to our members”

How to pitch and prioritise LGBTQ+ stories in the newsroom

By Emily Chudy, freelance journalist specialising in the LGBTQ+ community

At the beginning of my career, advertising the fact that I was queer in a majority straight, white, male newsroom was the last thing I wanted to do.

With time and hard work, however, newsroom culture has shifted. Now, editors look to people like me for sensitive and non-biased queer coverage.

So how can we pitch and prioritise LGBTQIA+ stories? What about those people who may not have the same life experience as us? Who might not see our stories as critical to the news agenda?

Continue reading “How to pitch and prioritise LGBTQ+ stories in the newsroom”

LGBTQ+ Journalism Network featured in the NCTJ careers guide

The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network has been featured in the NCTJ careers guide.

The latest edition of the NCTJ’s careers guide aims to encourage people from a range of backgrounds to consider a career in journalism.

The guide, which is sponsored by the Financial Times, is sent to more than 3,700 secondary schools, colleges and job centres across the UK.

Continue reading “LGBTQ+ Journalism Network featured in the NCTJ careers guide”

As a transgender person and foreign citizen, I shouldn’t feel this unwelcome in the journalism industry

By Fran di Fazio, postgraduate student and aspiring journalist

It’s no secret that journalism is a difficult sector to enter – and its barriers are disservice to the public.

Scarce diversity within the profession, stressed by the NCTJ 2022 Diversity in Journalism report, leads to poorly informed coverage. This lowers the public’s trust in journalism and contributes to the sector’s decline.

Continue reading “As a transgender person and foreign citizen, I shouldn’t feel this unwelcome in the journalism industry”

Being a closeted queer Muslim journalist is like being a superhero – secret identity and all

By Deenah al-Aqsa, journalist

Being a closeted queer Muslim journalist is a bit like being a superhero. My hijab is my cape, and hiding my queerness from family feels like I’m wearing a mask. Most importantly, I mean it when I say no one can know my secret.

Continue reading “Being a closeted queer Muslim journalist is like being a superhero – secret identity and all”

Being part of a queer media family finally helped me beat my demons

By Steven Topple, journalist and broadcaster

Addiction is a complex issue: individualised, with no easy solution. But having a workplace where the leadership are part of the LGBTQIA+ community allowed me to finally beat my demons.

Continue reading “Being part of a queer media family finally helped me beat my demons”

The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network to host first event

The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network will host its first event in May.

The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network will host ‘Why LGBTQ+ journalism is important in 2022’ on May 26 at 7pm, with speakers Charlotte Summers, Jamie Wareham and Ryan Butcher and Shivani Dave all confirmed.

Continue reading “The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network to host first event”