I was surprised when GLAAD decided to remove the “Outstanding Blog” category from its Media Awards this year. So were many other bloggers—and we took action.
When GLAAD announced the nominees for its 27th Media Awards, it did not include the category of “Outstanding Blog,” which it had created in 2011 (and which I was honored to win in 2012). It did have categories for “Digital Journalism Article” and “Digital Journalism – Multimedia,” which bloggers could be considered for—but those are equally open to submissions from larger news outlets with more extensive resources. There was no longer an award that recognized the particular contributions of independent, small-scale (but sometimes powerful) blogs.
I was among the many bloggers and other journalists who signed our names to a petition (below) asking them to reinstate the Outstanding Blog category. I fully agree with the sentiments of the letter. We bloggers have value as “independent voices of lived LGBT experience” and should be recognized for the contribution we have made to LGBTQ visibility.
GLAAD listened, and announced yesterday that they will be reinstating the award next year. Many of us still want the award to be given this year, and feel it is not too late. There is certainly talent enough in the LGBTQ blogosphere. I hope GLAAD reconsiders and does give an Outstanding Blog award this year as well. Even if they don’t, however, I applaud them for their willingness to admit an error and to correct it in the future. Not all organizations would listen so well to constructive criticism.
To GLAAD’s credit, too, I’ve been thrilled to work with them for the past several years on my Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day, when they’ve helped promote the event and showcased various LGBTQ families sharing their stories. I believe that, and not the award kerfuffle, is more indicative of their commitment to independent LGBTQ voices.
[Please visit Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters for updates on additional signatories.]
An Open Letter to GLAAD Regarding the 2016 Media Awards
We, the undersigned, respectfully but strongly disagree with your decision to remove the category of ‘Outstanding Blog’ from the GLAAD Awards and with your rationalization behind this decision.
LGBT blogs and independent media play a crucial role in relaying information, providing new and diverse voices, and bringing attention to LGBT issues that have been overlooked and omitted by the mainstream media. Bloggers are the last truly independent voices of lived LGBT experience, and those who undertake this task typically do so without pay or recognition. They don’t grace the cover of magazines. They don’t get book deals. They don’t win Oscars. What they accomplish through their sacrifice of time and energy is the proper dissemination of information which serves to make our community stronger and better educated.
The ‘Outstanding Blog’ award bestowed by GLAAD was one of the few ways LGBT bloggers has been given their due. The idea that these voices will now have to compete with larger and more powerful news entities such as The New York Times, MSNBC and Buzzfeed is unfair and, frankly, humiliating. The elimination of the ‘Outstanding Blog’ category implies that unless one is a celebrity or affiliated with a publication with a high profile and finances to match, you are held without regard in the LGBT media landscape, or at least as GLAAD sees it.
It is sadly ironic that GLAAD, an organization which prides itself on lifting up positive LGBT portrayals, has rendered grassroots LGBT voices invisible and unworthy of recognition. While an initial statement from GLAAD explained that bloggers are still welcome to compete with national outlets in other journalism categories, a simple fact speaks for itself: among the 2016 award nominees, there is not a single blog (or community-based LGBT outlet, for that matter) to be found anywhere on the list. The crucial voice of first-person LGBT voices has simply disappeared from the GLAAD Awards. This is a troubling message to send to the general public, to up-and-coming LGBT writers, and to the LGBT community itself.
In the spirit of a community in which every voice is an asset in our march to full equality, we ask that the ‘Outstanding Blog’ category be fully reinstated immediately. Please conduct a nomination process at once so that this critical error might be rectified before your 2016 awards dinner. Also, announcing the winner of this category from the stage, unlike in years past, would also be a nice touch.
Sincerely,
Diane Anderson-Minshall
CEO of Retrograde Communications & Editor in Chief of Plus Magazine
Hivplusmag.com
Bil Browning
Founder of The Bilerico Project
Bilerico.com
2011, 2012 GLAAD Award Nominee
JD Davids
Managing Editor, TheBody.com
Zack Ford
LGBT Editor, ThinkProgress.org
Michael Hamar
Michael in Norfolk – Coming Out in Mid-Life
Michael-In-Norfolk.blogspot.com
Rebecca Juro
Columnist, South Florida Gay News
Mark S. King
MyFabulousDisease.com
2015 GLAAD Award Nominee
Will Kohler
Back2Stonewall.com
Alvin McEwen
Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com
2014, 2015 GLAAD Award Nominee
Noah Michelson
HuffPost Queer Voices
Huffingtonpost.com/queer-voices
Michael Rogers
Netroots Connect
lgbtnetrootsconnect.org
Dana Rudolph
Mombian.com
2012 GLAAD Media Award Winner
Michelangelo Signorile
Sirius XM PROGRESS
Signorile.com
Pam Spaulding
Pam’s House Blend
PamSpaulding.net
Joe Sudbay
Longtime Blogger
Berlin Sylvestre
Editor, OUT FRONT Magazine
Brynn Tannehill
Independent Writer
Daniel Villarreal
Editor in Chief, Unicorn Booty
UnicornBooty.com
Ashton P. Woods
Strength in Numbers
ashtonpwoods.strengthinnumbershouston.com
Sarah Toce
Founder/Publisher, The Seattle Lesbian
theseattlelesbian.com
Dana Beyer
Weekly Columnist
Huffpost Queer Voices
Jim Burroway
Box Turtle Bulletin
2015 GLAAD Nominee for Outstanding Blog
2012 GLAAD Nominee for Outstanding Digital Journalism Article
2012 National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Winner for Excellence in Online Journalism
Sue Kerr MSW
Founding Editor
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
www.pghlesbian.com
@pghlesbian24
Andre Duque
Blogger, Blabbeando
Blabbeando.blogspot.com
2011 GLAAD Award Nominee