The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards also recognize achievements in other branches of the media and arts, including theatre, music, journalism and advertising. Honorees are selected by a process involving over 700 GLAAD Media Award voters and volunteers and are evaluated using four criteria: "Fair, Accurate and Inclusive Representations" of the LGBT community, "Boldness and Originality" of the project, significant "Cultural Impact" on mainstream culture, and "Overall Quality" of the project. Results are then certified by a "Review Panel" who determine the final list of recipients based on voting results and their own "expert opinions". The 1st GLAAD Media Awards ceremony honoring the 1989 season was held in 1990, and recognized 34 nominees in 7 competitive categories.
History The first GLAAD Media Awards were presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in 1990 to honor the 1989 season, and were envisioned as a way to recognize various branches of the media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives. The 1st Annual Awards ceremony recognized 34 nominees in 7 competitive categories and was a relatively "small" affair. At the 20th Annual Awards ceremony presented in 2009, GLAAD Award Honoree, Phil Donahue said of the first Annual ceremony: "It's unbelievable to think about the power and the warp speed of this revolution. Twenty years ago when I proudly accepted the first GLAAD Media Award…it was a very small crowd. There are more photographers here tonight than there were people then". For the first six years, winners were announced prior to the ceremony. Beginning with the 7th Annual Awards held in 1996, the change was made to its current format, announcing the winners in competitive categories at the ceremony. The 15th Annual Awards held in 2004 marked the first year nominations were expanded to recognize media in Spanish-language categories. The 16th Annual Awards held in 2005 marked the first year that the ceremonies were televised, first airing on the LGBT-themed Logo channel on July 24, 2005.
Statuette The original GLAAD Media Award stood approximately 6-inches (15 cm) tall, consisting of a flat, 5-inch (13 cm) square-shaped crystal sculpture with a design of five concentric circles on a "newsprint" background. The sculpture was traditionally etched with the year it was presented followed by the words "GLAAD Media Award" and was mounted perpendicular to its flat, quadrant shaped base. The award remained unchanged until 2009, when an all new statuette designed by David Moritz of Society Awards was unveiled for the 20th annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies. The current statuette stands 12-inches (30.5 cm) tall, consisting of a 9-inch (23 cm) die-cast zinc sculpture, hand finished with a satin texture, plated with a nickel and rhodium finish, and mounted on a 3-inch (7.6 cm) tall, black-stained ash, trapezoidal shaped base.
Nomination and selection Nominees are selected by GLAAD "Nominating Juries" consisting of over 90 volunteers with interest and expertise in the particular category they are judging. Nominating Juries may select up to ten nominees in each category since 2015; previous presentations only allowed up to five. If no projects are deemed worthy of nomination in a particular category, the jury may choose to not award that category. At the end of the year, the Nominating Juries submit their list of recommended nominees to GLAAD's staff and Board of Directors for approval. In addition to media monitoring by the juries, GLAAD issues a "Call for Entries", inviting media outlets to submit their work for consideration, however, GLAAD may nominate a mainstream media project even if it is not submitted as part of the call for entries. GLAAD does not monitor media created by and for the LGBT community for defamation, therefore, media outlets created by and for an LGBT audience must submit in order to be considered for nomination. Candidates considered for nomination are evaluated using four criteria: "Fair, Accurate and Inclusive Representations", meaning that the diversity of the LGBT community is represented, "Boldness and Originality", meaning the project breaks new ground by exploring LGBT subject matter in non-traditional ways, "Cultural Impact", meaning the project impacts an audience that may not regularly be exposed to LGBT issues, and "Overall Quality", meaning a project of extremely high quality which adds impact and significance to the images and issues portrayed. Over 600 GLAAD Media Award voters participate in the selection of Honorees from the pool of Nominees in each category via online balloting. Voters are made up of three groups: GLAAD staff and board, GLAAD Alliance and Media Circle members, and GLAAD volunteers & allies (which include former Honorees, media industry allies, volunteers from the "Nominating Juries" and "Event Production Teams"). These results are then reviewed for certification by a "Review Panel" which consists of the GLAAD Board co-chairs, senior GLAAD program and communications staff, and media industry experts. Members of the Review Panel are expected to view all of the nominees in each category, and the final list of award recipients is determined by the Review Panel based on the results of the online balloting and their own "expert opinions".
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