The
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) today
announced a call for entries for the Leroy F. Aarons and the Kay
Longcope scholarships, which are awarded to students who demonstrate a
commitment to providing fair and accurate coverage of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. These annual scholarships are
presented in honor of two prominent journalists. Applications are available online and will be accepted until January 20, 2012.
“We are
devoted to creating educational opportunities to support the next
generation of LGBT newsroom leaders,” says NLGJA Executive Director
Michael Tune, “There are many still untold stories from the LGBT
community and we are thrilled to be able to help further the education
of two outstanding students concerned about the fair and accurate
portrayal of the community in the news.”
The Leroy F. Aarons scholarship was
established in 2005 to honor NLGJA founder Leroy Aarons and to continue
his work of fostering fair and accurate coverage of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender issues from within the news industry. Past
winners are: Sharyn Jackson (2011), Mary Susman (2010), Ryan McLendon
(2009), Matthew Leung (2008), Colin Dugdale (2007) and Dennis Mitchell
(2006).
The Kay Longcope scholarship was established in 2008 in memory of Boston Globe journalist Kay Longcope, who co-founded the Texas Triangle,
a LGBT weekly newspaper that would eventually grow to become the major
source for all things gay in Texas, covering the gamut from news to art,
relationships to music reviews. This scholarship has been awarded twice
before and will continue to fund a LGBT student of color who plans a
career in journalism. Past winners are: Fenit Nirappil (2011) and Carl
Gaines (2010).
NLGJA partners with The Philadelphia Foundation (TPF), a community foundation established in 1918, to administer the NLGJA Student Scholarship Fund. The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund,
a component fund of TPF serving to advance philanthropy within the LGBT
communities, will disburse the scholarship awards on recommendations
from NLGJA during each award period.
