LGBT Journalists Group Honors  

The Advocate was recognized twice as the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association announced the recipients of its Excellence in Journalism Awards today.

Jonathan Rauch received first place in the Excellence in Opinion Writing Category for "The Majority Report," while second place in Excellence in Feature Writing went to Jeff Sharlet for "Dangerous Liaisons."

Additionally, freelance journalist Michael Luongo, a frequent contributor to The Advocate, is the recipient of this year's Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for Excellence in LGBT Media.

David Steinberg, NLGJA's national board president, released a statement, which read: "With a huge increase in entries, the 2011 awards show the depth of quality journalism reporting on LGBT issues and lives. From legacy media -- like Jeff Sharlet's stunning reporting on homophobia in Africa for Harpers -- to online citizen journalism -- Bil Browning's heartbreaking saga of Betsie Gallardo chronicled at Bilerico Project -- 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."

The awards are scheduled to be presented at the NLGJA National Convention and LGBT Media Summit in Philadelphia August 27.

NLGJA is an organization of journalists, media professionals, educators, and students who work within the news industry to foster fair and accurate coverage of LGBT issues.