For Immediate Release: July 10, 2012
Media Contact: Bach Polakowski,
202-588-9888 or bach@nlgja.org

Washington, D.C. – Today the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) announces the recipients of its Excellence in Journalism Awards.

The recipient of this year's Journalist of the Year is Steven W. Thrasher of the Village Voice, New York Times and Out. The recipient of this year's Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Media goes to Chris Geidner, formerly of Metro Weekly.

NLGJA's Excellence in Journalism Awards were established in 1993 to foster, recognize and reward excellence in journalism on issues related to the LGBT community. In addition to Journalist of the Year and the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Media, awards will be presented for excellence in news writing, feature writing, opinion writing, local television, network television, radio, online, HIV/AIDS and student journalism.

The NLGJA 2012 Journalist of the Year is Steven W. Thrasher, a staff writer for the Village Voice and writer for the New York Times and Out. Whether it is about multigenerational gay families, a homeless shelter for LGBT youth, or a controversial political dynasty involved in New York’s same-sex marriage battles, Thrasher’s work succeeds at being interesting and unexpected. A keen interviewer and beautiful writer, his willingness to move beyond the usual in covering LGBT lives hit its peak this year.

This year's Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year Award goes to Chris Geidner, former senior political editor at Metro Weekly, and now senior political reporter at BuzzFeed. Geidner has been the go-to voice for important news stories in Washington, D.C., covering the White House, Supreme Court, and Justice Department. His sober and intelligent writing thoroughly explains some of the most important political stories of the year, quickly becoming one of the most attributed LGBT journalists online and in the mainstream press.

“It was another outstanding year for quality journalism reporting on LGBT issues and lives. The 30th Anniversary of the beginning of the AIDS crisis brought outstanding work from KQED and CNN, while Cary Aspinwall’s story of a transgender teen in the Tulsa World shined a light on transgender lives in an unusual place. Judges were especially impressed with the work of Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin, who took citizen journalism to a new level with his coverage of George Reker’s experiment in uncovering what makes little boys gay and the experiment’s impact on one particular man,” says David Steinberg, NLGJA's National Board President. “NLGJA's Excellence in Journalism Awards recognize a variety of media and journalists who exemplify NLGJA's commitment to fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues.”

NLGJA Journalist of the Year
Winner: Steven W. Thrasher – Village Voice, New York Times, Out

Sarah Pettit LGBT Journalist of the Year
Winner: Chris Geidner – Metro Weekly
Runner-Up: Jen Colletta – Philadelphia Gay News

Excellence in News Writing
First Place: Chris Geidner, Metro Weekly, DOJ Stops Defending DOMA
Second Place: Brett Zongker, Associated Press, Coverage of the National Portrait Gallery’s first show on history of LGBT art
Third Place: Jen Colletta, Philadelphia Gay News, Coverage of the Stacey Blahnik murder

Excellence in Feature Writing
First Place: Cary Aspinwall, Tulsa World, “Becoming Katie”
Second Place: June Thomas, Slate, “The Gay Bar”
Third Place: Karina Bland, Arizona Republic, “2 Gay Dads, 12 Happy Kids”

Excellence in Student Journalism
First Place: Simon Husted, Fusion (Kent State), “Jake Nash: Speaking For The Transgender Community”

Excellence in HIV/AIDS Coverage
First Place: CNN, “30 Years of AIDS: Profiles”

Writer/Producers: Elizabeth Landau and Madison Park,

Second Place: CNN, Sanjay Gupta MD: AIDS Turns 30

Correspondent: Dr. Sanjay Gupta
Senior Executive Producer: Roni Selig
Supervising Producer: Caleb Hellerman
Senior Produce: Saundra Young
Managing Editor: Miriam Falco
Associate Producer: William Hudson

Third Place: Regan Hoffman, Poz, “R.I.P. HIV”

Excellence in Opinion Writing
First Place: Aaron Stella, Philadelphia Gay News
Second Place: Sean Bugg, Metro Weekly

Excellence in Radio
First Place: California Report for KQED, “AIDS at 30”

Host/Reporter: Scott Shafer

Second Place: SiriusXM OutQ News, “Live Coverage: Gay Marriage in New York”

Anchor/Producer: Tim Curran and Xorje Olivares

Third Place: State of the Re:Union, “Laramie After Matthew Shepard”

Host and Executive Producer: Al Letson
Producer: Laura Starecheski
Senior Content Editor: Taki Telonidis
Executive Director: Ian DeSousa

Excellence in Online Journalism
First Place: Jim Burroway, Box Turtle Bulletin, “What Are Little Boys Made of”
Second Place: Michael Luongo, The Advocate, “Unlikely Activist”
Third Place: Adam Polaski, Bilerico Project, Lez Get Real/Paula Brooks Scandal

Excellence in Network Television
First Place: CNN, “Anderson Cooper 360: Sissy Boy Experiments”

Correspondents: Anderson Cooper, Randi Kaye,
Executive Producer for AC360: Charlie Moore
Executive Producer: Bud Bultman
Producers: Jessi Joseph and Scott Bronstein
Editor: April Hock, Blake Luce

Second Place: CNN International, “World’s Untold Stories: Corrective Rape”

Executive Producers: Mike McCarthy, Sheri England
Producer: Brent Swails
Correspondent: Nkepile Mabuse
Editor: Earl Nurse

Third Place: CNN, “Anderson Cooper 360: Bullying It Stops Here”

Correspondent: Soledad O'Brien
Anchor: Anderson Cooper
Executive Producer: Charlie Moore
Senior Broadcast Producer: Kara Kasarjian
Senior Editorial Producer: Kerry Rubin
Producer: Chuck Hadad
Associate Producer: Elise Miller
Writer: Marshall Arbitman, Maureen Miller
Editors: Nathaniel Little, Carl Graf

Excellence in Local TV
First Place: WDAF-TV (Fox-Kansas City), “Meet My Moms”

Reporter/Anchor: Abby Eden
Photojournalist: Sarah Thacker

Awards will be presented at the UNITY 2012 Convention NLGJA Awards Reception, August 3, 2012 in Las Vegas. For more information on the convention, visit nlgja.org/unity/

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About the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association
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. For more information on the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, visit the NLGJA Web site at https://www.nlgja.org.