HRC honors Jonathan Capehart, Ina Fried, and Nico Lang for LGBTQ+ journalism that breaks through the noise

As the field of journalism under the second Trump administration, and particularly LGBTQ+ reporters, faces increasing scrutiny, censorship, and personal risk just for doing their jobs, the Human Rights Campaign is responding with something new: recognition.

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Timed to the White House Correspondents Dinner week, HRC will present its first-ever Guardians of Truth journalism awards in Washington, D.C., on April 24. The awards will honor three trailblazing journalists whose work has not only informed but also defended LGBTQ+ lives in a time of relentless political attacks.

The inaugural honorees are Axios Chief Technology Correspondent Ina Fried, American Teenager author and founder of Queer Daily News Nico Lang, and Pulitzer Prize-winning MSNBC anchor and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart.

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Fried will receive the Torch of Progress Award, recognizing courage in being out as LGBTQ+ while covering major national stories. Lang is being honored with the Narrative Impact Award for long-form storytelling that centers queer and trans youth with authenticity and care. Capehart will receive the Beacon of Courage Award for his long-standing commitment to covering politics through a lens of visibility, equity, and truth.

“These awards recognize journalists who have shown both fierce commitment to telling the truth and representing the LGBTQ+ community with authenticity,” HRC President Kelley Robinson told The Advocate. “Their work is a testament to the power of journalism in advancing social justice and equality.”

An HRC spokesperson said the organization created the awards after hearing from journalists at lifestyle outlets across the country whose leadership is discouraging LGBTQ+ coverage for being “too political.” Robinson said the awards are about pushing back—and showing up.

“In these unstable, scary times, when both press freedom and LGBTQ+ rights face unprecedented threats, their dedication to covering our community’s issues honestly stands as a beacon of progress,” she said.

For Fried, whose AI+ newsletter at Axios leads national coverage of artificial intelligence, the recognition comes after more than two decades of navigating tech journalism as a trans woman — and doing so visibly.

“It’s certainly a tough time to be a journalist. It’s a tough time to be a transgender person. It’s certainly a tough time to be a transgender journalist,” Fried told The Advocate.

Fried transitioned at CNET in 2003 and is now often the only out trans reporter in elite rooms: Davos, the Olympics, the corridors of power. But she says visibility isn’t just personal — it’s also structural.

“I am a well-prepared, well-thought-of journalist in my field who is very openly trans,” she said. “And so I do think the world gets to see that.”

Fried has reported on AI policy, algorithmic bias, and tech accountability, often holding tech executives’ feet to the fire on issues of equity and ethics. But in recent years, as anti-trans rhetoric escalated nationwide, she said journalism alone didn’t feel like enough.

“As one of the comparatively few trans people with a platform, it was really important to me to show up for the community,” she said. “I couldn’t let them feel like they were alone.”

Lang’s work also emerges from a place of responsibility and joy. Their 2024 book American Teenager follows eight trans and nonbinary youth across the U.S., documenting their challenges, humor, dreams, and power.

“These kids are so different from each other — and that’s what makes them special,” Lang said. “I wanted to show them being happy and healthy and living their most authentic lives. It’s not an accident they’re doing well. It took a lot of work — theirs and their families.”

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Lang said publishers initially pushed for a single character who could stand in for all trans youth. Instead, Lang insisted on individuality — and pushed forward with a book tour they largely self-funded, often sleeping on couches and emailing thousands of local LGBTQ+ organizations to ensure the book reached the people who needed it.

“If anybody has some illusion that queer authors are rich, you can look at my bank account,” they said. “I have half as much money as I did when I started writing this book. But the most important thing is that people who need this book know that it exists.”

Capehart’s Beacon of Courage Award arrives as he prepares to break new ground in cable news. This spring, he will join Eugene Daniels and Jackie Alemany in relaunching MSNBC’s The Weekend—a historic move that will make Capehart and Daniels the first two out Black gay men to coanchor a major national news program.

“Throughout my career, I’ve striven to show up as my full, authentic self in every aspect of life – in newsrooms, in front of the camera, and beyond. I have always used the platforms my work gives me to shed light on the stories and the people in my communities and beyond that perhaps don't always make national headlines or make any headlines at all,” Capehart said. “I am proud of the work I have done and the work I will continue to do in this space and I will always cover those in power without fear or favor."

Lang added, "There are so few opportunities in the year for somebody to show that they’ve been paying attention to our work. This is one of them.”