Trans Journalists Association

The group promotes covering transgender-related issues in a left-of-center manner and provides support for “gender-expansive journalists” in their careers. The group positions itself as a resource for reporters, editors, and newsrooms seeking to address common questions in reporting on transgender topics. ³

The Trans Journalists Association is an affiliate member of the Institute for Nonprofit News,  a left-of-center media organization network including Mother Jones, ProPublica, and The Intercept. ^{4  5 6} The group initially launched in 2020 as a fiscally sponsored project of the Tiny News Collective but subsequently became an independent nonprofit in 2024. ^{7  8}

Programs and Resources

The Trans Journalists Association maintains a stylebook and coverage guide with recommendations for reporting on transgender topics. It suggests avoiding terms it considers politicized or inaccurate, such as “biological sex,” “gender ideology,” or “rapid-onset gender dysphoria,” and favors phrases like “gender-affirming care.” ²

The group’s workplace resources guide assembles tools from journalism, LGBT advocacy organizations, and legal sources to encourage newsrooms to become more “inclusive” toward transgender staff. It features a “holistic safety” section covering “psychological, digital, and physical safety,” and recommended procedures for byline changes due to name changes. ⁹

The group runs the Level Up program with stipends of $250 or $500 for journalist professional development, including conference attendance or training. It has offered scholarships for workshops, such as one on “misinformation” with the Reynolds Journalism Institute, which is funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. ^{10 11  12}

Controversy

On January 5, 2026, a post from a profile on X (previously Twitter) shared a screenshot from an article written for The Guardian which mentioned CBS News and use of terminology from the Trans Journalists Association. According to the screenshot, a CBS correspondent, whom the X user claimed was Jan Crawford, wrote an internal email alleging that the company “should refrain from adopting terminology advocated by the movement” in their stylebook as well as avoiding their recommendation on using the phrase “biological sex.” The story continues that a CBS producer responded and angrily claimed “It’s a TJA style ‘guide’ – that’s what I’m trying to do. Guide us to better coverage.” ¹³

Financials

In 2024, the Trans Journalists Association reported total revenues of $480,143, with expenses of $107,334, resulting in net income of $372,809. Contributions and grants accounted for 95 percent of revenue, totaling $456,698, while program services generated the remaining $23,437, or 4.9 percent. Total assets stood at $378,077, with liabilities of $122, yielding net assets of $377,955. ¹⁴

The group launched with an initial $50,000 grant from the Ford Foundation through TJA’s fiscal sponsor from the foundation’s Creativity and Free Expression program. ¹⁵ In 2025, the Ford Foundation donated an additional $225,000 to promote “nuanced coverage of trans issues and communities in the media and to support gender-expansive journalists in their workplaces and careers.” ¹⁶

People

As of October 2025, the executive director of the Trans Journalists Association was Tre’vell Anderson. As founder and chief imagination officer of Slayzhon, a media production house, Anderson authored We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film and co-authored the NAACP Image Award-winning “Historically Black Phrases.” ⁶