TODAY'S SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, AUG. 23

Breakfast
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
11:00AM-12:15AM

Lunch Plenary
12:30PM-2:00PM

Breakout Sessions
2:15PM-3:30PM

Closing Session
3:45PM-5:15PM

Authors' Café
3:45PM-5:45PM

Not-So-Silent Auction
6:45PM-8:45PM

View the full schedule here

TODAY'S WEATHER

WHAT IS NLGJA?

Find out more about NLGJA at the official website.

MENTORS

A big thanks to our mentors:

Brett Zongker
The Associated Press

Caroline K. Hauser
The Washington Post

Mark S. Luckie
Entertainment Weekly

Larry M. Shaw
ABC

Dennis M. Powell
ABC

Doug Mitchell
NPR

Foreign panel ponders LGBT coverage

by Laniaya Hoofatt

Panelists at a Thursday session on foreign correspondents highlighted how the press can cover LGBT people in other countries on a limited budget.

In the past, articles published in U.S. newspapers have been used as evidence to convict individuals from countries where homosexual acts are illegal.

"Journalists should cover them with sensitivity because gender and sexuality plays out differently in other countries," said Marc Bromley, founder of LGBT Foreign Policy, an international gay rights advocacy group.

Bromley said the media can jump the gun on using labels such as "gay" in countries that don't necessarily use U.S. terminology. "We tend to force our labels on people in other countries," he said.

In many cases, LGBT media can do a better job covering these issues because they are more sensitive than much of the mainstream media can be, panelists said. For one thing, being gay themselves can give these journalists more access and insight into their subjects' lives.

Nevertheless, "right now gay media funds can not compare to mainstream media," said freelance writer and photographer Michael Luongo.

In the past, acts of violence against gays in foreign countries would go unnoticed, panelists said.

For example, four men living in a home in Jamaica were surrounded by a mob of angry community members because they did not want gays in their neighborhood. The police were called, but it took them hours to respond to the violence that was taking place. When they finally did respond, officers joked around with the protesters but did not make any arrests.

Violence such as this rarely gets the coverage that it should in mainstream media, panelists said. But because of media consolidation, the gay press is increasingly dependent on their corporate parents.

"If it wasn't for mainstream work, gay work could never be done," Luongo said.
Lack of accurate information has also made it more difficult to report on LGBT people in other countries.

The U.S. State Department requires all embassies to report on violations of human rights. Those reports did not cover acts of violence against gays in foreign countries.

Gay activist groups have successfully put pressure on the U.S. government to change this. Now reports include stories about individuals who are being persecuted.