AN INSTITUTE OF CHANGE
THREE DECADES
OF CHANGE
GLAAD has learned a lot since its founding in 1985 about the media’s role in changing hearts and minds. GLAAD demonstrated not only media’s powerful influence—impacting how people treat others, how they vote, and their daily decisions—but our own authoritative potential to lead the conversation, reshape the narrative, and ultimately, change the culture.
Now it’s time to share that experience more widely, giving people the tools they need to break barriers, champion acceptance, and amplify media impact in today’s culture.
– SARAH KATE ELLIS, PRESIDENT & CEO, GLAAD
WHAT
WE DO
The GLAAD Media Institute enables people to build the core skills and techniques that effectuate positive cultural change. This is accomplished through three pillars:
TRAINING
Spokesperson and media engagement education for effective storytelling
CONSULTING
Serving industries, corporations, and organizations positioned to take a stand for justice
RESEARCH
Fielding studies, evaluating data, and developing metrics to strengthen our mission and drive action
IMPACT
A nationwide network of 20,000 LGBTQ and allied students, activists, and spokespeople who can move hearts and minds in national and local media markets
Accurate, inclusive stories and messages in media outlets that increase and enhance representation of LGBTQ people
More educated film, TV show, and video game creators to produce compelling, entertaining LGBTQ characters that do not reinforce common stereotypes
Improved reporting and understanding of LGBTQ people and non-discrimination policies by national and local publications and media outlets
A database of research and resources including media guides on best practices, fair and accurate reporting, opposition materials, and responsibility indexes
ACTIVATE
NAVIGATE
AND INITIATE
SOCIAL CHANGE
Nothing is more powerful than the personal stories that humanize our community.
Moving hearts and minds involves so much more than just supporting social justice. It requires the skills to uncover, hone, and communicate your narrative. It demands a keen understanding of your audience and the complexities of today’s media machine. It calls for dedicated follow-up to ensure that your message goes the distance, stays on-target, and is being leveraged and amplified consistently across multiple media platforms.
Using the best practices, tools, and techniques we’ve perfected over the past 30 years, the GLAAD Media Institute turns education into armor for today’s culture war—transforming individuals into compelling storytellers, media-savvy navigators, and mighty ambassadors whose voices break through the noise and incite real change.
Confirmed Training
- Check back soon for 2025 training dates
Taught by GLAAD Media Institute Experts
CONSULTING:
WE MEAN BUSINESS
Using the best practices, tools, and techniques we’ve perfected over the past 30 years, the GLAAD Media Institute turns education into armor for today’s culture war—transforming individuals into compelling storytellers, media-savvy navigators, and mighty ambassadors whose voices break through the noise and incite real change.
Advising
We work with businesses on how to make smart, researched decisions before launching new products, services, and marketing campaigns.
Coaching
We train corporate spokespeople to use best practices on message-making and narrative development.”
Behind-the-Scenes
We work with the television, film, and video game industries to ensure casting reflects the new realities of this generation, and that LGBTQ character presence is authentic.
Training
We train newsrooms and journalists on appropriate current terminology, and how to report on critical issues including hate crimes, nondiscrimination laws, marriage equality, and HIV.
RESEARCH
You can’t move what you can’t measure.
The more we know and understand about the state of acceptance, the more effectively GLAAD can fulfill its mission.
GLAAD currently publishes several reports yearly. Since 2014, we’ve partnered with the Harris Poll to track nationwide sentiments and comfortability surrounding the LGBTQ community, sharing the results in the Accelerating Acceptance report. Other key resources include the Where We Are on TV report analyzing diversity across broadcast and cable networks and streaming services, and the GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), a road map toward increasing fair, accurate, and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film.
As the GLAAD Media Institute builds a new network of ambassadors nationwide, our ability to collect data at a granular level will improve. With an expanded, enhancedability to field custom research that best meets the needs of our clients and audience, our goal is to create a more robust, proactive research arm that can undergird and inform more impactful work across communities…and beyond.
Click here for spokespeople who can speak about ENDA What is ENDA? The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) bill introduced in congress would extend the current non-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity, making it illegal to refuse to hire or promote, fire, or harass an employee based on…
Agradecemos la cobertura de las personas gay o transgénero en los medios, y GLAAD le insta a todos los medios de comunicación a prestar mucha atención al lenguaje que se emplea a la hora de cubrir cualquier noticia que tenga que ver con la comunidad lésbica, gay, bisexual y transgénero (LGBT). Por favor no dude contactarnos con cualquier duda o pregunta.Nosotros en GLAAD estamos comprometidos a proveer los recursos necesarios a los medios para que la cobertura sobre nuestra comunidad sea justa, correcta y equitativa.
The creation of the Where We Are on TV report in 2005 allows GLAAD to track trends and compile statistics for series regular characters on broadcast television with regard to sexual orientation, gender identity and race/ethnicity for the upcoming season. GLAAD measures the presence of LGBT characters and the visibility of the…
Mientras que la Corte Suprema de EE.UU. se prepara para intervenir en los casos que cuestionan la llamada Acta del “Defensa del Matrimonio” (DOMA, por sus siglas en inglés) y la anti-gay Proposición 8, GLAAD está colaborando con varias organizaciones defensoras LGBT y que abogan por la justicia para asegurar…
Below is a resource guide to assist media professionals covering marriage equality and the cases before the US Supreme Court
Resources and suggestions for developing LGBT-inclusive Black History Month features.
In recognition of Transgender Awareness Week and the Transgender Day of Remembrance, GLAAD has reviewed its archives of transgender-inclusive television episodes over the past ten years, and found that a great deal of progress still needs to be made for fair and accurate depictions of the transgender community.Since 2002, GLAAD catalogued 102 episodes and…
FOUNDING PARTNER
EARLY PARTNERS
