At the same time, LGBT people in media seem more influential than ever. That’s why picking the top 50 most influential LGBT members of the media is so challenging. We’ve only done it one time before, in 2014.

First, we asked a lot of LGBT journalists who they’d pick. As we’ve done in the past, we left the meaning of "influential" open to interpretation. The responses seem to show that journalists value social media influence, same as everyone else does.

A few caveats about who is eligible for the list: Only those media figures who are publicly out are included. We’re glad to say that includes more people this time around. And as much as we appreciate our colleagues in the LGBT news world, this list consists of reporters and editors who produce for mainstream outlets on largely non-LGBT beats.