The Buckeye Flame receives two GLAAD Media Award noms

GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, on Wednesday announced the nominees of the 36th GLAAD Media Awards: 303 nominees across 33 categories including culture-shifting stories about transgender people, people living with HIV, global LGBTQ+ criminalization, LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, LGBTQ+ youth and more.

The Buckeye Flame, Ohio’s LGBTQ+ newsroom, received two nominations:

Outstanding Independent Journalism
Outstanding Online Journalism Article for “He’s 23 and in an Ohio Prison for Exposing Someone to HIV – Even Though He Couldn’t Transmit the Virus” with Ken Schneck / Rachel Dissell (The Buckeye Flame / The Marshall Project)

The “Outstanding Independent Journalism” award is a new category of sorts. Previously designated “Outstanding Blog,” GLAAD updated the category to recognize creators and independent news organizations that drive journalism and commentary for and about LGBTQ+ people and issues. Other nominees include The 19th, Assigned Media, The Don Lemon Show, Erin in the Morning and Queer News Daily.

“Being in that esteemed company is unbelievably validating for our scrappy, queer newsroom,” said Buckeye Flame Editor Ken Schneck. “It’s especially meaningful to be the only state-specific outlet on the list and have this spotlight on our unwavering commitment to LGBTQ+ Ohio.”

The Buckeye Flame partnered with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system, to publish the “He’s 23 and in an Ohio Prison” piece in March 2024. The article tells the story of Caymir Weaver, sentenced to a year in an Ohio prison under one of Ohio’s six laws that criminalize living with HIV.

An illustration with a dark purple background featuring a map Ohio shows a Black man with handcuffs and an orange jail jumpsuit turned toward a White, elderly mail judge. On the left of the image is a representation of an HIV test.

He’s 23 and in an Ohio Prison for Exposing Someone to HIV – Even Though He Couldn’t Transmit the Virus

The article was re-published by multiple outlets and was referenced in a press conference introducing legislation to modernize these outdated laws.

“It’s important that news outlets interrogate the real and human fallout of these types of laws,” said Rachel Dissell, contributing editor of The Marshall Project. “Doing so is the only way they’ll get the scrutiny they deserve.”

Since 1990, the GLAAD Media Awards have grown to be the most visible annual LGBTQ+ awards show in the world, sending powerful messages of acceptance to audiences globally.

The GLAAD Media Awards will be held in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 27. 🔥