The Trans Journalist Association launched Tuesday, announcing itself in a series of tweets that laid out its overall mission to foster a more inclusive environment in newsrooms across America.
“We are a collective of trans journalists who have felt erased and misrepresented by the industry at large. Today, we launch the Trans Journalists Association,” began the thread.
It went on, “The Trans Journalists Association exists to support trans journalists in their careers through community support, providing guidance to newsrooms for more accurate coverage of trans communities, and helping employers make their workplaces more trans friendly.”
The account linked to the association’s website, which features a style guide for journalists covering transgender individuals and related issues. The site also includes a section for employers that highlights documents on best practices to create trans-friendly workplaces and supporting employees who come out as transgender.
The launch of the association comes as newsrooms around the country are facing internal conversations about diversity and external rebuke for lack thereof. Black journalists and other minority media staffers have been speaking up publicly, calling on their newsroom leadership to diversify their workplaces and coverage areas amid national unrest over systemic racism and other forms of discrimination.