November 18, 2008, Washington, DC--The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Kay Longcope Scholarship Award.
The scholarship award, to be given to a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) student of color who plans a career in journalism and is committed to furthering NLGJA's mission of fair and accurate coverage of the LGBT community, was created thanks to a generous gift from Longcope's estate and with the guidance of her partner Barbara Wohlgemuth.
Journalist Kay Longcope was co-founder of the statewide LGBT newsweekly, The Texas Triangle, and is generally regarded as the first out reporter at the Boston Globe newspaper. The pioneering Longcope started writing for the Globe in 1970 and was there for more than twenty years, including serving for a time as the paper's religion editor. She died of pancreatic cancer on March 28, 2007.
David Barre, NLGJA Executive Director, said "We are grateful to Kay Longcope for helping NLGJA strengthen our education efforts and making such a commitment to helping tomorrow's newsrooms reflect the full diversity of the LGBT community. We look forward to announcing the first recipient next year."
"NLGJA is proud of the establishment of this scholarship in memory of Kay Longcope, a pioneering journalist who was an inspiration to many. This endowment will aid another generation of journalists in gaining the valuable tools to ensure that the coverage of issues that were so important to Kay is professional, fair and accurate," said NLGJA's National President David Steinberg.
The Kay Longcope Scholarship Award joins the Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Award as the organization's second national scholarship offering tuition assistance to a deserving LGBT student. The Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Award annually provides up to $5,000 in tuition funding to an LGBT student who is preparing for a career in journalism.
In 2005, NLGJA's 15th anniversary year, the Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Award was established to honor the memory of NLGJA's founder Leroy (Roy) F. Aarons and to continue the work he began when he founded NLGJA.
NLGJA partnered with The Philadelphia Foundation, a community foundation established in 1918, to invest and manage the NLGJA Scholarship Fund. The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, a community foundation serving to advance philanthropy within the LGBT community, will administer and disburse the scholarship awards in collaboration with an NLGJA advisory committee.
The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund, established in 1995, is affiliated with The Philadelphia Foundation.
Applications for the Kay Longcope and Leroy F. Aarons Scholarship Awards are now available. Deadline for applications is Friday, January 9, 2009.
Applications are also now being accepted for students interested in being considered for the 2009 Leroy F. Aarons Newsroom Internship. The Aarons Newsroom Internship offers one student journalist the opportunity to participate in a paid, ten-week internship at The Oakland Tribune.
Funded through a generous gift from The Chicago Tribune Foundation and created in partnership with The Oakland Tribune and the Bay Area News Group-East Bay, the internship is named for NLGJA founder and former Oakland Tribune Executive Editor Roy Aarons.
Deadline for applications to the Leroy F. Aarons Newsroom Internship program is Friday, December 12, 2008.
NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators and students working from within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues. NLGJA opposes all forms of workplace bias and provides professional development to its members.
Media Contact:
Thomas Cashman Avila
Deputy Executive Director
202-588-9888, ext. 17
tavila@nlgja.org
