By WESLEY LOWERY
The UNITY News

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association has worked extensively with the four UNITY: Journalists of Color alliance members – associations of Black, Hispanic, Asian and Native American journalists – and has hosted sessions and participated on panels at UNITY conventions.

Yet 14 years after the organizations began their relationship, the two groups are not partners.

NLGJA was established four years before the inaugural 1994 UNITY convention in Atlanta. Twice, the association attempted to gain full partner status in the UNITY alliance. In 1995, both associations signed an agreement of “mutual cooperation,” in which the organizations agreed to work on joint projects.

Alliance inclusion proposals were voted down in 1994 and 1998. NABJ, in 1998, was the only UNITY member to vote against lesbian and gay journalists’ inclusion.

In January 1998, the alliance board of directors changed the organization name to UNITY: Journalists of Color. Lesbian and gay journalists released a statement that said the name change “discouraged hopes that the organization and NLGJA might ever merge.”

“[The name change] more concretely underlined the purpose of UNITY,” said Eric Hegedus, NLGJA president. He sees overlap in the organizations mission, yet acknowledges that both have distinct focuses.

“We are about LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender] issues, some of which affect journalists of color,” Hegedus said. “But unlike the other UNITY members, we are not specifically for journalists of color.”

The lesbian and gay journalist’s primary goal is to work within the news industry to promote fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues, Hegedus said. He also said the development of LGBT groups within the UNITY member organizations demonstrated progress.

In January 2005, NABJ founded its LGBT Task Force. A month later, NAHJ followed suit, unveiling its GLBT Caucus.

Mashaun Simon, co-founder of the task force, said the concept of a LGBT group within NABJ was introduced by former President Tom Morgan. Simon said the task force was working with NLGJA and the NAHJ GLBT caucus to organize a joint mixer.

The NAHJ caucus monitored media outlets for inaccurate and intolerant coverage.

According to Brandon Benavides, GLBT caucus’ co-chair, upon discovering a Spanish radio talk show host using incorrect terminology, the caucus compiled a Spanish-English LGBT Stylebook.

The caucus’ largest project was a collaboration with CBS News on a special report for the cable network Logo, which targets the LGBT community. A 30-minute special titled “Los Otros,” or “The Others,” told stories about the LGBT community.

NLJGA’s success with the UNITY alliance served as hope for smaller journalism organizations such as the South Asian Journalists Association, which declined to attend this year’s convention because of the prohibitive cost for most of its members.

The National Arab American Journalists Association is trying to succeed where the lesbian and gay journalists have not: gain full alliance membership. Founded in 1999, NAAJA spent two years petitioning for inclusion in UNITY, and successfully scheduled an Arab-American discussion panel at the convention.

But according to Ray Hanania, association coordinator and syndicated columnist, UNITY has been inconsistent in its willingness to work with the organization. In a July 8 blog, he wrote, “UNITY has been dragging its feet on a request by Arab-American journalists to become a partner and to create a road map for their eventual equal status in UNITY.”

While talk of partner status has ceased, Hegedus said there are numerous avenues in which lesbian and gay journalists and UNITY can improve newsroom diversity in the future.

“Corporations have a more expansive idea of what true diversity is,” said Hegedus, “and that includes NLGJA.”