Friday Night In San Francisco

I've been attending the annual National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association conference this week in San Francisco.

Lots of seminars, conference sessions and all that jazz, but the best part is meeting up with so many friends from all over the country and from different parts of he media.

This pic of hubby Michael with our friends Reed McDowell and Javi Morgado was how our festive Friday night started out.

It still made me laugh when I woke up this morning.

And then there's the part where I told a photographer that Michael has 500,000 Twitter followers, so the photog kept taking Michael's picture but that's another story... :)

Jason Collins shares his coming out experience in a media firestorm in hour long chat

At last week's 2014 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association summit, ESPN NBA editor Kevin Arnovitz sat down with out NBA-er Jason Collins for an extended chat on his experience with the media while coming out in the major leagues.

Collins became the first openly gay active NBA player and he joined the Brooklyn Nets in February 2014.

During the lengthy discussion (over an hour), Jason was warm, candid, and laughed quite a bit as he shared his thoughts on the process of coming out in a media firestorm, what the landscape for out athletes looks like now, plus what the future hold for him.

Before his coming out announcement, Jason credited media training where he learned to pivot from awkward questions, and to not "give any additional ammunition" to "the haters."

Jason also shared this for those who are still in the closet: "When you do come out, your life is going to get much better."

Jason was more than generous with his time taking photos with everyone who approached him, and never looked like he was rushing the appearance at all.  He could not have been nicer.

And props to Arnovitz for his excellent Q&A plus follow-up.  Nice to see someone who knows what they're doing.

I didn't start recording until ten seconds into Jason's first comment - my apologies. The recording begins as Jason talks on discussions he had with his Stanford college roommate U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, (who is not gay) about his first thoughts on coming out.

Chris Geidner named Journalist of the Year by National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association

Buzzfeed senior legal and political reporter Chris Geidner

Today the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) announces the recipients of its Excellence in Journalism Awards and salutes their exemplary work.

The NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards were established in 1993 to foster, recognize and reward excellence in journalism on issues related to the LGBT community.

The 2014 NLGJA Journalist of the Year is Chris Geidner, senior legal and political reporter for BuzzFeed. “Geidner wrote pieces that soared above policy and law, bringing us Edie and Thea, and how their story wove into a decades-long civil rights struggle,” wrote one judge. “He added context from a dual profile of Evan Wolfson and Andrew Sullivan."

Geidner was awarded the Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year Award in 2012, he was runner up for the 2013 NLGJA Journalist of the Year and his 2011 series on the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell won for Excellence in News Writing.

This year's Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year Award goes to Lila Shapiro, reporter for the Huffington Post. This is the second year in a row Shapiro has won this award. A judge praised: “This is a beautifully executed body of work. In the case of the conversion therapy and the gay bar stories, this contestant shows us how social and governmental power brokers work to undermine our community.”

The following are special recognition awards and awards for excellence in various news media and platforms.

Special recognition awards:
Journalist of the Year Award
Chris Geidner

Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBT Journalist of the Year
Lila Shapiro


Print/online awards:
Excellence in Blogging
First: Mark King for “My Fabulous Disease”

Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage Award
First: David France for “How to Survive a Plague”
Second: Steve Blanchard for “Chasing the Bug”

Excellence in News Writing Award
First: Timothy Cwiek for coverage of Nizah Morris case
Second: Beth Hawkins “Same-sex marriage, Minnesota and the Supreme Court: an FAQ for the befuddled”

Excellence in Feature Writing Award
First: Gabriel Arana for “Soldier without a War”
Second: Melissa Griffiths for “LGBTQ in the Capital” (series)
Third: Beth Schwartzapfel for “Little Boxes”

Excellence in Opinion/Editorial Writing Award
First: Tracy Baim for “The content of our character: Trayvon and us”
Second: Gail Shister for “Is Your Husband Gay?”
Third: Steve Friess for “My Turn as a Target of ‘God Hates Fags’ Preacher Fred Phelps”

Excellence in Online Journalism Award
First: Dani McClain for “Being ‘Masculine of Center’ While Black”

Excellence in Multimedia Award
First: Michelle Garcia for “The State of Pride in Sports”

Excellence in Photojournalism Award
First: D. David Robinson and Sunnivie Brydum for “We Are Here: LGBTI in Uganda”

Excellence in Student Journalism Award
First: Samuel Nemir Olivares Bonilla for “Boston Groups Reach Out to LGBT Youth of Color"

Broadcast awards:
Excellence in Local Television Award
First: John-Carlos Estrada for “Bar Kicks Out Gay Couple for Dancing”

Excellence in Radio Award
First: Emma Jacobs for “One Gay, Binational Couple's Story -- and Hopes -- As Supreme Court Decision Nears”


The awards will be presented August 23 during the NLGJA Awards Reception at Breaking Barriers, the 2014 NLGJA National Convention and 10th Annual LGBT Media Summit. For more information on the convention, visit www.nlgja.org/2014/

(via press release)

President of gay journalist's association passes away at 48

Michael Triplett, president of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, has died at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer.

Triplett was assistant managing editor at Bloomberg-BNA, where he helped guide coverage of tax and labor issues, drawing on his background in law. He frequently served on NLGJA panels dealing with legal matters.

From the NLGJA website: "His quiet demeanor masked a steely resolve and an uncanny ability to push our organization forward. Michael quickly became someone who could be relied on both to provide sage advice as well as the time and energy to help us accomplish our goals.

"Michael was truly a joy for all of us to work with, and his loss will be felt among our organization for years to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with his partner, Jack and his family in Alabama."