Last night, the first section of the 23rd annual GLAAD Media Awards were presented in New York City in an event hosted by Glee‘s Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera. The awards, which will continue April 21st in Los Angeles, honor media outlets, people and programs across the board “for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.” With 35 categories that get as specific as “outstanding talk show episode,” the awards often hit on some of the great but sometimes unappreciated media events of the year — but that’s not to say they ignore the most popular.
Dancing With the Stars took home the honor for outstanding reality program, Focus Features’ excellent and harrowing Pariah won for outstanding film in limited release, and HBO’s Cinema Verite — based on the 1973 documentary that boasted the first openly gay character on television — was selected as the most outstanding TV movie or miniseries. Lady Gaga was honored as the outstanding musical artist, Batwoman took it home for comic books, and Smash executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron were presented with the Vita Russo Award, presented annually to “openly LGBT media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equality.” Those all seem about on-target to us. For a complete list of the winners, head over to the GLAAD Media Awards website.