‘Go where the people are’: A local journalist’s guide to reporting LGBTQ+ stories
With LGBTQ+ funding being cut, resources dwindling, and civil rights under attack, journalists must work hard to connect sweeping national policies to local lived experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s important to let readers know, especially in a community that has a significant LGBTQ+ population, hey, this is going on,” said Bill Canacci, regional features editor for Asbury Park Press/Gannett NJ.
On June 17, the Institute hosted a panel of experts who shared advice for localizing and amplifying LGBTQ+ stories. The main question they were tasked with answering: How should reporters cover nationally relevant stories in their home communities?
Here are the takeaways:
Build diverse sources
- Be present and visible in the community. Relationships built over time lead to more authentic coverage.
- Go where the people are. Build relationships within LGBTQ+ spaces, even when you’re not on assignment. Building trust starts before you need a source. “Be in the community. Do the work. Do the work to get to know that community,” said Sharif Durhams, managing editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- You can’t diversify stories until you diversify your newsroom. Jacob Reyes, GLAAD news coordinator, said diversity within newsrooms is important to ensure that all communities are seen and validated.
Use inclusive style and language
- Look to experts rather than assume. Many organizations provide guidance on language and style to consider when covering LGBTQ+ communities or including sources who identify as LGBTQ+, such as the Trans Journalists Association and the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. “It’s important to make sure that instead of looking to your government’s language, you’re looking for your LGBTQ+ organizations,” Reyes said.
- When interviewing a source who is transgender, ask which pronouns they prefer to have published, as they may differ from the pronouns they use in person.
Watch for bias in your reporting
- Be careful of bias and your own misconceptions when pitching stories. “You should think about: Is there some sort of bias inherent to the way that I am framing this story as a journalist?” said Kae Petrin, co-executive director and co-founder of the Trans Journalists Association.
- Take note of the people or communities who do not want to be sources. If a particular demographic continues to decline being a source, perhaps your pitch has an unaddressed but perceived bias.
Listen actively to queer communities
- Build genuine relationships by asking questions and inviting conversations over coffee. “It’s really a question of doing your job – reporting that these things are going on, talking to people, telling stories, all of that visibility is just doing the work, day in and day out,” Canacci said.
- Follow queer informational accounts on social media to stay informed on what matters to the communities.
- Make it a practice to invite LGBTQ+ viewpoints regularly, not just in issue-driven stories. “We have to understand people who aren’t like us in order to survive and thrive,” Durhams said.
Connect policy to local impact
- Include LGBTQ+ voices in any story that impacts LGBTQ+ people. Representation in sourcing is essential for accuracy and context. “Once we get those voices included in local reporting and state reporting, that obviously increases the level of empathy and the level of understanding from the reader,” Reyes said.
- Follow public comments at public meetings to identify new voices. In some states, public comment forms are public record and include contact information, making them a valuable tool for sourcing. “People from the community will step up and say: This is how such a policy could affect me and my friends and neighbors,” said Kathryn Varn, Tampa Bay reporter at Axios.
- Always use the specific language used in a bill before relying on sources’ interpretations. If there is a document you are still unclear on, ask a legal expert to explain it to you before writing. “I’m not normally a legal reporter,” Petrin said. “I need to go talk to a legal expert about what is in this and what is not in this so that the political misinformation … does not become the dominant narrative.”
These tips were compiled by Institute summer interns Maggie Amacher, Savannah Grooms, and James (Jay) McCurtis III. Watch the full panel:
Speakers included:
- Bill Canacci, regional features editor for Asbury Park Press/Gannett NJ
- Sharif Durhams, Managing Editor, News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; at-large director, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists
- Kae Petrin, co-executive director & co-founder of the Trans Journalists Association; data and graphics reporter at Civic News Company.
- Jacob Reyes, GLAAD news coordinator and Texas Latino Pride vice president.
- Kathryn Varn, Tampa Bay reporter at Axios
The conversation was moderated by Femi Redwood, a newsroom manager and on-air journalist, a board member for NLGJA, and co-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists’ LGBTQ task force.