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.
“We won’t settle for anything less than 100% acceptance.”
– 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 Hollywood film and TV show 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
- April 26-27 – Atlanta, GA, Telling Your Story – Register Now
- May 4 – Phoenix, AZ, Telling Your Story – Register Now
Training Coming Up
- May 31 – St. Petersburg, FL, Telling Your Story: registration opening soon
- June 1-2 – Miami, FL, Telling Your Story: registration opening soon
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 and film 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.
As the LGBTQ community continues to expand and become more visible, the 2023 Accelerating Acceptance study reveals that a record number of non-LGBTQ Americans support equal rights for the LGBTQ community. The Study also shows that an overwhelming majority of non-LGBTQ Americans now believe that LGBTQ people should have the…
Esperamos que esta guía sea una herramienta y un glosario básico. Pero no es un glosario completo de todos los términos ni es una guía prescriptiva para todas las personas LGBTQ.
The Where We Are on TV report analyzes the number of LGBTQ characters on primetime scripted series on broadcast networks, primetime scripted series on cable networks and scripted series on streaming services for the 2022-2023 TV season. This year’s report was released in March 2023.Below are some of the most remarkable points…
GLAAD’s annual Studio Responsibility Index, a study that maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ characters in films released theatrically by major studio distributors, was launched in 2013 after seeing the progress driven by the organization’s work and research in LGBTQ storytelling on television.
The most recent study, issued December 2022 analyzing 2021 releases, researched films distributed theatrically by Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, United Artists Releasing, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as films released by four subsidiaries of these major studios. The Studio Responsibility Index is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBTQ representation in film
Introduction from Sarah Kate Ellis Since 2020, GLAAD, in partnership with the Gilead COMPASS initiative, has been tracking the State of HIV Stigma in the United States, asking key questions each year about Americans’ attitudes and knowledge of HIV, and the stigma that exists around the virus and people living…
Una guía detallada en español sobre las normas de los medios de comunicación para una cobertura más precisa y respetuosa de la comunidad trans en el periodismo.
FOUNDING PARTNER
EARLY PARTNERS
