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.
Each year through extensive polling and research, GLAAD takes an in-depth look at the state of America’s hearts and minds when it comes to accepting LGBTQ people.Without question, the past few decades have yielded remarkable progress for the LGBTQ community in the United States, with historic advancements achieved for both…
Nearly Invisible is the first GLAAD report that analyzes the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in primetime Spanish-language scripted television airing in the United States between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. The report also analyzed the inclusion of characters of African and indigenous descent as well as characters with disabilities.
The Where We Are on TV report analyzes the overall diversity of primetime scripted series regulars on broadcast networks and looks at the number of LGBTQ characters on cable networks and streaming services for the 2016-2017 TV season.Below are some of the most remarkable points GLAAD found in its research this…
“Southern Stories: A Guide for Reporting on LGBT People in Texas” is part of GLAAD’s Southern Stories initiative, which aims to positively showcase the lives of, and build acceptance for, the LGBT community in Southern states. It is intended for journalists and reporters telling the stories of LGBT people living…
The GLAAD Studio Responsibility Index (SRI) maps the quantity, quality and diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in films released by seven major motion picture studios during the 2015 calendar year. GLAAD researched films released by 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Sony Columbia, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers, as well as films released by four major subsidiary studios. The report is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT film representations.
GLAAD, with BiNet USA, Bisexual Organizing Project, and Bisexual Resource Center, released In Focus: Reporting on the Bisexual Community, a resource guide to help journalists to more accurately report on the bisexual community and the differences between individuals within the community.
“Southern Stories: A Guide for Reporting on LGBT People in Alabama” is part of GLAAD’s Southern Stories initiative, which aims to positively showcase the lives of, and build acceptance for, the LGBT community in southern states. It is intended for journalists and reporters telling the stories of LGBT people living…
“Southern Stories: A Guide for Reporting on LGBT People in Mississippi” is part of GLAAD’s Southern Stories initiative, which aims to positively showcase the lives of, and build acceptance for, the LGBT community in southern states. It is intended for journalists and reporters telling the stories of LGBT people living…
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