Wed 28 Apr 2010 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
One of the most qualified and experienced journalists to ever report and write full time for the NZ glbt communities is joining the GayNZ.com team. Jacqui Stanford Jacqui Stanford, currently a journalist and sub-editor in the NewstalkZB national newsroom, will formally start with GayNZ.com late next month. She has been informally assisting with coverage of glbt community matters since the departure of Matt Akersten from the role last month but will soon settle in to fully anchor the news and information aspect of the site. "Jacqui's passion for glbt issues and events is tremendous," says GayNZ.com co-publisher and Content Editor Jay Bennie. "As far as I am aware you would have to go back to the early 1990s when Claire Gummer, a journalist who earned great respect in the early days of Man to Man and Express newspaper, made a commitment to keeping our communities informed. The high level of skills and energy Jacqui brings to glbt affairs made her stand out from the other applicants for the position, though we thank all those who applied or expressed interest." Stanford says she is looking forward to helping provide a credible voice for glbt people. "I am incredibly excited to be given the chance to tell the stories of a community I adore," she says. "For more than seven years now I have worked in the mainstream media, watching our issues being misrepresented, misunderstood - or just plain missing. This is why it is crucial that GayNZ.com continues to be a voice for our people and personalities." "GayNZ.com is a place I discovered when I first came out," she says. "It's a place which represented me and made me feel like I was not alone. This is why I applied for this role, as it's something I want to uphold for others who are just gently peering out of the closet." Stanford, like Matt Akersten before her and Chris Banks at the beginning, is GayNZ.com's only paid employee. "Much of the community work we do through the site is volunteered," says Jay Bennie, but the high level of commitment and the workload required of this writing and sub-editing position means that no one could do it and hold down a job as well." Of the reporter who preceded her, Stanford says "Matt Akersten is a good friend who I admire greatly, and know was incredibly loved and well-respected within the gay community. I know I will not be an exact fit in his shoes, so I intend to bring something different to GayNZ.com." She says she is looking forward to getting to know GayNZ.com's readers "and the many people who are out there working tirelessly in and for our community." Bennie says a small team of committed volunteers has been keeping the information areas of the website and its offshoot, the venue and events-oriented Gig Guide publication, ticking over while an appointment to the position was worked through. "Matt was a hard worker and seemed to be everywhere at once. Luckily some very capable people have pitched in or upped their work load to tide things through and we're all very grateful to them," he says.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 28th April 2010 - 4:00pm