June is LGBTQ Pride Month. My name is Evan and I’m an openly gay anchor and reporter - I’ve been out for well over a decade, most of it on TV. Those years have shown me how powerful representation is both on air and in newsrooms. We’ve come a long way, but we have so much farther to go.

Most people see Pride as a party - usually a parade - that celebrates and recognizes authenticity and acceptance. But we should never forget that Pride was born out of oppression and harassment - it was an uprising - and remains a protest. Many in the LGBTQIA+ community today feel targeted and under attack again.

Our role as journalists is to keep these stories in the spotlight, seek accountability, and build understanding. Now as much as ever, journalists must do this by providing context to the legislative arguments, asking tough questions, stripping unfounded rhetoric from the argument, and showing everyday queer joy as often as we report on legislative targeting.

By being out on TV and advocating for inclusion in everyday storytelling and special coverage focused on issues facing the community, I’m in a unique position to see the impact it makes. Take this tweet from a young viewer 2021, after I hosted a first-of-its-kind-in-the-region news special on Pride and LGBTQIA+ issues in prime access:

"I don't know what I would've done if I had sat down to watch the evening news with my family as a kid and seen this 🥺" -- Andrew Kneer

News coverage of LGBTQIA+ issues has been - and is still - playing catch-up. Largely, early coverage of the AIDS epidemic lacked accountability and was skewed or pessimistic. It led to misconceptions many people still have today. Right now, news outlets are often struggling with transgender coverage - misgendering, dead naming people, echoing rhetoric unchecked, or lacking trans voices themselves.

There are resources available to strengthen your commitment to getting it right. The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists has a helpful stylebook (https://www.nlgja.org/stylebook/), so does the Trans Journalists Association (https://transjournalists.org/style-guide/).

Every Pride is someone’s first Pride, the first time they’ve seen people like them thriving. So, cheers to you - the most authentic you. And remember, LGBTQIA+ stories and issues exist outside of June - we can Pride at any time.

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