Journalists Honored for Work in Media, Activism

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association announced Monday that it will induct Don Michaels, William Dorr Lambert Legg, and Michelangelo Signorile into its Hall of Fame.

Michaels, Legg, and Signorile will be honored at an awards ceremony at the 2011 National Convention and 8th annual LGBT Media Summit in Philadelphia on Aug. 27.

Don Michaels lived in Buffalo, N.Y. during the late 1970's, where he served as Mattachine Society president and was a self-proclaimed full-time gay rights activist. After relocating to Washington, D.C., with his partner, he eventually became the first paid employee at The Washington Blade, one of the few publications at the time to report LGBT news on Capital Hill and throughout the United States. Michaels also managed a gay community center and got his start in journalism by editing a small gay newsletter in Buffalo.

Michelangelo Signorile studied journalism at Syracuse University and has written many books, such as Queer in America, which details the negative side effects associated with hiding one's homosexual identity. He now hosts a talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio, and is a columnist for The Advocate. The co-founder of Queer Nation has also written for various LGBT and mainstream magazines.

William Dorr Lambert Legg founded Knights of the Clock, a support group for LGBT interracial couples, in Los Angeles in 1950 with his partner. One of his most notable contributions to the LGBT community was when he sued the United States Post Office Department in order for gay journals to be sent thought U.S. mail. Legg, who died in 1994, will be honored posthumously.

The NLGJA, which was founded in 1990, is the leading professional network for LGBT journalists in the United States, and is recognized around the world. More information on the organization can be found here.