REGIONAL
GLAAD: US South Lacks
LGBTQ News Coverage
A new report shows that some local news outlets in the South are failing to address HIV and LGBTQrelated
issues in news coverage.
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
The LGBTQ media monitoring
group GLAAD
released a new report
highlighting a lack of local
news coverage on LGBTQ and
HIV-related issues in the South.
Findings from the debut report,
Local Media Accountability Index
– US South, which was compiled
from June 2019 to December 2020,
revealed that local news outlets in
nine states, including Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and
Mississippi, have poorly addressed
the HIV/AIDS crisis facing LGBTQ
communities of color. According to
the report, out of 1,300 stories about
LGBTQ people in the US South, only
79 of them focused on people living
with HIV/AIDS, and just 27 included
facts about HIV prevention, treatment,
and transmission.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah
Kate Ellis denounced the alarmingly
low coverage of these issues.
“Local media have a tremendous
responsibility to represent
all in their communities, and that
must include LGBTQ people,” Ellis
said in a written statement. “As
anti-LGBTQ legislation is on the
rise and HIV continues to impact
communities across the US South,
GLAAD’s Local Media Accountability
Index shows signifi cant underreporting
of LGBTQ stories, a lack
of local LGBTQ voices in stories and
REUTERS/JONATHAN ERNST
limited coverage of issues like HIV.”
Ellis added, “Fair and accurate
news coverage can break HIV stigma
and accelerate acceptance of
LGBTQ lives. Our new report is a
baseline count to partner with local
Southern newsrooms to ensure
more stories are told that include
LGBTQ residents and organizations
from across the region.”
In compiling the report, researchers
analyzed and gathered
data from 181 local news outlets before
and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report indicated that
39 of 181 outlets had “produced no
or negligible LGBTQ content over
the 18-month period,” and at least
one outlet in every Southern state
studied did not produce an LGBTQ
story. According to the report, there
were zero LGBTQ stories produced
in Mississippi.
The report also highlighted a
disturbing pattern of local news
outlets misgendering and deadnaming
trans people targeted by
anti-LGBTQ violence. GLAAD advised
reporters to use the correct
names and pronouns for sources.
Advocates warn that gaps in
HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related
news coverage fuels stigma.
In the wake of the report, GLAAD
urges organizations to bring attention
to diverse LGBTQ narratives
and emphasize that with treatment,
people living with HIV/AIDS
live long and healthy lives.
SLUG
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