In 1992, when the first convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association was held, the late Chronicle reporter Randy Shilts and Andrew Sullivan, editor of the New Republic at the time, both vehemently opposed outing public officials.

Today, there’s been a shift. At this year’s convention in San Francisco earlier this month, Sullivan attacked the mainstream media for NOT investigating the rumors that Elena Kagan was a lesbian. And the Chron’s Matier & Ross outed Prop. 8 lawsuit judge Vaughn Walker.

Matthew S. Bajko, of the LGBT publication Bay Area Reporter and a NLGJA board member, says that if there is one takeaway he got from this year’s NLGJA convention, it’s that there’s no industry-wide standard for when reporters should out a newsmaker. [MORE]