Pride Coverage Primer
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Pride Story Ideas

• How big a boon is Pride to the businesses in your community? In some cities, the parade is one of the largest public events of the year. Are hundreds or thousands of people flocking to hotels, bars and tourist attractions?

• Explore the history of Pride events in your community. How have they grown over the years? How have the messages of the events changed?

• Talk with someone who is experiencing his or her first Pride event (they're easier to find than you think). They come in all ages, and each has an interesting story to tell. What was life like before they decided to come out, and why did they decide to do it now? How has it changed their lives?

• Talk with the churches that have entries in Pride parades and booths at Pride events. Why do they support Pride, and how do they relate to their LGBT parishioners? How do they balance Pride and their faith?

• Non-profit support organizations usually have booths at Pride events. Find out the suicide rate among LGBT teens and why it is disproportionately high. Explore why domestic violence is as big a problem in the LGBT community as it is in the heterosexual community. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been with us more than 20 years; find out how it still affects your readers/viewers.

• Talk to parents who are there to support their LGBT children. Groups such as PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) usually have parade entries and booths and often get the loudest cheers from attendees.

• The community is not immune to prejudice in its own ranks. Talk with LGBT people of color about the double jeopardy of LGBT racism. Ask a mixed-race couple about the challenges they face in the LGBT community.

• Too often the “B” and the “T” in LGBT are ignored. Reach out to organizations and social groups to ask members of the bisexual and transgender communities about the special challenges and obstacles they face.

• Check out the hate crime situation in your community. Do your local and state law enforcement agencies track incidents and hate crimes against LGBT people? Do officers believe all the incidents are being reported and listed as hate crimes when appropriate? Why or why not? On the flip side, some cities have gay and lesbian law enforcement organizations that take part in the march. Find out what it's like to be an openly LGBT cop.

• Many schools have gay-straight alliances, and some will be at Pride. Do young people feel differently than older people about these events? Do younger people question whether Pride is even necessary anymore?

• Talk to the owner of an LGBT business to find out what extra challenges or opportunities he or she faces. Talk to local businesses about whether they offer domestic partner benefits and follow up with Pride attendees to find out what the benefits mean to them and their partners.

• Pride is a good time to review whether your city includes sexual orientation in its discrimination legislation.

• Do many LGBT couples in your community plan to get married if they can legally do so? Are some resistant to the idea of taking part in a traditionally heterosexual ceremony? If domestic partnerships are available in your city or state, check to see how many people have signed up for them. Have their numbers risen since the marriage issue became prominent? If the numbers are low, explore the reasons why. Are same-sex couples unaware of the options open to them, unwilling to make commitments, or simply procrastinating? Also, is there a disparity between lesbians and gay men?

• LGBT couples face a variety of special financial challenges, from obtaining health insurance in the workplace to providing child support after break-ups. How about a business story on this topic, perhaps in conjunction with an examination of similar issues facing heterosexual unmarried couples, including seniors afraid of losing benefits?