NLGJA 2026 National Convention

I have been working as an entertainment and history journalist for the Bay Area Reporter since 2011 and have received two journalism awards from the California News Publishers Association in 2023 and 2024. My areas of expertise are local history and music.

Cynthia Laird has been with the award-winning Bay Area Reporter, the country's oldest continuously publishing LGBTQ newspaper, for 30 years. She started at the paper in May 1996 as an assistant editor and became news editor in July 1999. Over that time, she has seen major changes... Read More →

Jim Provenzano is the Arts & Nightlife Editor for the Bay Area Reporter, where he has held various editorial positions since 1992, including the award-winning syndicated Sports Complex column (1996-2006).

He’s the author of seven novels – “Finding Tulsa,” “Now I’m Here,” the Lambda Literary Award-winning “Every Time I Think of You,” its sequel Message of Love (a Lambda Literary Award finalist), the novels “PINS,” “Monkey Suits,” “Cyclizen,” – the commissioned

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Michael Yamashita served as general manager of the Bay Area Reporter from 1995 until 2017, when he became publisher. He is the first gay Asian-Pacific Islander owner-publisher of an LGBTQ newspaper. He serves on the board of directors of the California News Publisher Association... Read More →