The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association announced Friday its latest inductees into the LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame, tapping two institutions that have served the LGBT community for the past 40 years.
Bob Ross, who cofounded San Francisco's Bay Area Reporter in 1971, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Mark Segal, the publisher and founder of the Philadelphia Gay News, in print since 1976.
The LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame was established in 2005, recognizing seven journalists for their commitment, courage and dedication to LGBT issues in the media, according to a press release from NLGJA announcing the honorees. Since the Hall's founding, NLGJA has honored 23 journalists in the LGBT community.
"I'm lucky to have spent 38 years in a professional I truly love," Segal told The Advocate. "What a pleasure to watch as LGBT media has grown, and help create a platform of communications for our community to debate issues of importance, and help to eases the pain of our battle for equality, and at times our very lives. I'm literally overwhelmed with emotion, and thankful to the writers, editors, freelancers, and staff that partnered with me and makes me a proud publisher."
"We are thrilled to be inducting two pioneers of the LGBT press in the NLGJA Hall of Fame" said Jen Christensen, NLGJA president in a statement. "These two men created two of our most well-respected and enduring LGBT publications in the country, and also bravely showed mainstream publications how to give our community the thoughtful respect and coverage it deserved at a time when only stereotypes and shallow reporting were the norm."
