Author | Lightnews

Alex Berg

Alex Berg

@itsalexberg.bsky.social

1.7K followers 56 following 450 posts

executive creative director | on-air journalist telling stories in every medium. trail running devotee. probably yapping. itsalexberg.com

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Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Nov 18

If you’re curious about all that is at stake for LGBTQ+ people now that Trump is elected and is empowering homophobes and transphobes with his cabinet picks, before the election I moderated this roundtable with leaders. It’s a good comprehensive overview.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmgk...

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 2h

The Trump administration is spending $250 million to build a new ballroom in the White House while Americans are paying for groceries with Klarna.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

Finally, as the anti-trans sports discourse took off, an in-depth feature on an athlete who was barred from participating that centered a trans woman's voice and perspective, as all stories should.

Thank you Brooke and NBC OUT for making space for my reporting.
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...

Stuck on the sidelines: A transgender powerlifter fights for the right to compete

"It’s not fair to genetically eliminate an entire group of people," said JayCee Cooper, who was barred from USA Powerlifting competitions.

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

A report on the 45th anniversary of Roe, before it's overturn, about how abortion is an LGBTQ+ issue. NBC OUT was one of the few publications that recognized the importance of reporting on reproductive rights and queer and trans people.
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...

Abortion is an LGBTQ issue, too, advocates stress

Forty-five years after the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, LGBTQ advocates say abortion is still thought of as something that only impacts heterosexual people.

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

A fun exploration about how younger queer folks and WLW are using the term "Sapphic" as an expansive descriptor for the community.
www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...

What does 'Sapphic' mean? An ancient term is having a modern moment

From the Sapph-Lit book club to the Sapph-o-rama film series and the Sapphic Sandwich Instagram account, a word with an ancient Greek namesake is being reclaimed by women-loving women.

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

A feature about the beginnings of World Rugby's transphobic policies, featuring trans athletes and actual experts — not culture war warriors — on gender and athletic performance.
www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...

World Rugby’s transgender ban a ‘dangerous precedent,’ critics say

The sport’s international governing body issued new guidelines barring trans women from playing women’s contact rugby due to “player welfare risks.”

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

A few favorite stories that came to life with Brooke and NBC OUT's support.

An extensive report and multimedia feature on the revival of lesbian bars after two decades of closing.
www.nbcnews.com/specials/les...

After decades of declines, lesbian bars are having a renaissance

From Brooklyn to Oklahoma City, a dozen new venues owned by queer women have opened their doors since 2020.

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

My heart breaks every time I see another LGBTQ+ publication or site representing marginalized communities forced to close its doors, knowing it means our communities' stories will go untold. A huge thank you to Brooke and the editors of NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, and NBC Latino for tireless work.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

Brooke is not only a wonderful editor and reporter in her own right, but created a space in mainstream media for strong, accurate, and deeply reported LGBTQ+ stories that placed trust in queer and trans journalists, and didn't make us dignify voices working towards our destruction in our reporting.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

Through NBC OUT and thanks to the editorial leadership of my dear friend and creative partner Brooke Sopelsa, NBC was one of the very few legacy media organizations that did not fall for the transphobic and queerphobic both sides-ism in coverage that we've seen in the other major publications.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

At a time when our communities are under attack and there is a backlash against LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., these sections illuminated the policies and culture impacting our lives and society, all helmed by editors who were not only experts but connected to the communities their sections represented.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 5d

I'm incredibly sad to learn that NBC News has shuttered NBC OUT, a home for my work since its founding, along with all of the verticals that represented marginalized voices, NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, and NBC Latino.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 12d

Conversion “Therapy” is a harmful practice — disavowed by every major medical organization in the U.S. — that tells LGBTQ+ people we are fundamentally broken and must be “cured.” Queer and trans youth, in particular, will suffer when the court allows this.
apnews.com/article/supr...

Supreme Court seems skeptical about state bans on 'conversion therapy' for LGBTQ+ kids

A majority of Supreme Court justices seem to be leaning in favor of a Christian counselor who is challenging bans on LGBTQ+ “conversion therapy” for kids as a violation of her First Amendment rights.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 13d

I am currently in Portland for a photoshoot and the craziest thing that's happened is that our lunch was 10 minutes late because the delivery driver got stuck behind a train. Also, Blue Star Donuts is really good.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 29d

It seems that the Trump administration is defining these broad groups so that any individuals who defies an element of Christian Nationalism can be categorized and oppressed under the auspices of gender, ideology, ability, and of course, as we've already seen, immigration status.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 29d

Taking that higher view, these categories are nebulous and decentralized that a beholder can define however they wish. Looking at America's history of forced sterilization of disabled people, linking autism to a cause and (false) cure opens the door for forced treatments and (more) oppression.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · 29d

Thinking from a 30,000 foot view about Trump's disinformation about autism and Tylenol, the administration's plans to declare trans people terrorists, and go after Antifa...first, linking autism to a cause with a cure paints neurodivergent people as having something wrong with them — stigmatizing.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 19

Trans people and people of color will be disproportionately targeted; we've already seen this play out in anti-trans laws, ICE raids, and the criminalization of pro-Palestine protestors. But the reality is that we are all in trouble, and we've already been in trouble.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 19

Coupled with Trump's call to label Antifa a terrorist organization, these policies would allow the administration to criminalize anyone who they perceive as being part of nebulous, decentralized groups with whatever broad criteria around gender expression and political ideology they deem fit.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 19

The FBI's plans to target transgender people amount to criminalizing trans people for the act of existing. We've learned via other anti-trans bills that it would also target anyone who is gender nonconforming or deemed trans in the eyes of the state.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 18

As Kimmel is pulled from the air, where are all the comedians who claimed free speech was under attack because they were criticized for offensive remarks about marginalized groups? If concerns about free speech were sincere, they would come as more than a justification to insult trans people.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 18

The demise of free speech is also brought to you by corporate interests and complicity that would rather acquiesce to the autocracy of the Trump administration than stand behind comedians, journalists, and voices they hire. Free speech for me but not for thee.
www.vox.com/politics/461...

Let’s be clear about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel

Trump’s most brazen attack on free speech yet.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 10

I'm honestly terrified for the retribution that will come next. If you truly believe "political violence has no place in our country" then don't stoke your base to go out and commit more of it. By the way, there was also a school shooting today.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Sep 3

The Florida lawmakers eliminating vaccine mandates under the guise of medical freedom and bodily autonomy are the same ones shutting down abortion access and access to gender affirming care. This is all about medical freedom for me, not for thee.
www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

Florida surgeon general says state will eliminate all vaccine mandates

"Every last one of them is wrong and drips with disdain and slavery," Joseph Ladapo said. "Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?"

www.nbcnews.com

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Aug 12

If you're a gay person speaking up now because you're scared about your marriage, you best start standing with trans people, who literally started the LGBTQ rights movement in America and have been under viscious attack for years.

Alex Berg @itsalexberg.bsky.social · Aug 12

The Trump administration's efforts to denigrate same-sex marriage are part of a continuum of anti-LGBTQ activism that follows pervasive attacks on trans people. The marriage equality movement in the 2010s ignored trans people; cis queer people fighting for marriage this time have to do better.