"J. Edgar," Chaz Bono, Lady Gaga and "Glee" are among the television shows, movies and celebrities vying for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's 23rd Annual Media Awards.
The awards recognize and honor media for their accurate representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
GLAAD announced 116 nominees in 25 English-language categories, and 35 Spanish-language nominees in 10 categories on Thursday.
In the English-language categories, cable networks earned 23 nominations, while broadcast networks garnered 19 nominations.
On the film side, GLAAD also nominated the cross-dressing historical drama "Albert Nobbs" and the senior-citizen coming-out "Beginners."
Television programs that the anti-defamation organization singled out were Showtime's "Shameless," which features a gay teen character, and "Modern Family," which features a gay couple with an adopted child.
In addition to Gaga, whose "Born This Way" has become an anthem in the gay community, GLAAD also singled out such musicians as Beverly McClellan, Girl in a Coma and Ricky Martin.
On the news front, New York Times columnists Frank Bruni and Maureen Dowd, "Anderson Cooper 360," and "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" are all nominees.
Among the events singled out for nominations are the wedding of a gay staffer on "Conan" and David Letterman's interview with Chaz Bono on "Late Night."
"As media continue to tell new stories about LGBT people and families, a majority of Americans now support full equality of LGBT Americans," Mike Thompson, GLAAD’s acting president, said in a statement. "This year’s nominees enlighten and entertain, while spotlighting the diversity of our community."
The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies will be held in New York on March 24, 2012 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square; in Los Angeles on April 21 at the Westin Bonaventure; and in San Francisco on June 2 at San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
source: reuters
