Tennessee newspaper coverage of drag ban fails the state’s LGBTQ community

Tennessee’s print news is dominated by one company, Gannett, which has largely failed to cover the discriminatory new law meant to restrict public drag performances in the state’s LGBTQ community. Over about four months, Gannett-owned papers covered the issue in only 43 articles, out of which only 13 articles quoted a trans person and 11 quoted a drag performer.

On March 2, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed multiple bills into law that will harm gay and trans Tennesseans, including Senate Bill 3, which classifies “male or female impersonators” and criminalizes such “adult cabaret” performances on public property, or...