Lou’s Legacy: a Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade, a documentary produced by The Mattachine Society of Washington, DC, will receive an Excellence in Journalism Award from NLGJA, The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. The film premiered on WETA PBS in Washington, DC and Maryland Public Television (MPT) in June of 2025. The documentary’s Emmy-nominated Director and Producer Patrick Sammon will accept the award for Excellence in Local Television on September 11^th at NLGJA’s National Convention in San Francisco. Lou’s Legacy was produced in association with the Mattachine Society of Washington, DC, a non-profit LGBTQ history society dedicated to conducting original archival research. Aside from Sammon, the NLGJA is recognizing other members of the film’s production team including Producer Julianne Donofrio, Editor Amir Jaffer, Executive Producer Charles Francis, and Executive Producer Pate Felts.  

Lou’s Legacy tells the story of two DC icons — legendary Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and beloved drag performer Donnell Robinson, known to generations of Washington audiences as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Through Lou’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade and Ella’s return to the stage after a three-year hiatus following Covid, the 29-minute documentary explores the history of Washington’s LGBTQ community and today’s rising backlash against LGBTQ rights, including laws targeting drag performers.

 “All students of journalism can learn a lot from the story of Lou Chibbaro, Jr. Lou has chronicled nearly five decades of LGBTQ+ life and the community’s struggle for equality in Washington, DC. Lou’s work and the role of the queer press has been essential in covering stories the mainstream media would often ignore or erase”, said Ryan Levi, President, DC chapter of the NLGJA.  

“We are thrilled to receive this award from the NLGJA”, said the film’s director Patrick Sammon.  “Lou Chibbaro’s nearly five decade career at the Washington Blade demonstrates the essential role LGBTQ journalism plays in telling our community’s stories and documenting its history. This recognition from journalists who follow in Lou’s footsteps is particularly meaningful to me and the rest of our production team.”

“At a time when LGBTQ Americans are once again confronting a determined political backlash, Lou’s career reminds us why courageous journalism matters,” said Charles Francis, President of the Mattachine Society of Washington, DC. “For nearly five decades, he has documented injustice, challenged abuses of government power, and ensured that stories others overlooked became part of the public record.”

Earlier this year, the documentary was nominated for a Capital Emmy in the “Documentary – Historical” category by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.  

Lou’s Legacy is streaming for free at PBS.org. Here’s a link to watch the film.