LGBTQ+ journalists have launched a glossary of shorthand outlines related to their community in a bid to help journalism students and working journalists.

The LGBTQ+ Journalism Network has come of with the glossary, which it believes will help to ensure the “experiences of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in journalism”.

The glossary, which can be found here, included outlines for terms including “asexual”, “bisexual”, “gay”, “gender non-conforming”, “lesbian”, “pansexual” and “transgender”.

The outlines were written by Dani Wozencroft, who is on the NCTJ shorthand board, to mark Pride Month, which takes place throughout June.

LGBTQ+ Journalism Network founder Sophie Perry, a former Oxford Mail journalist who now works for Pink News, told HTFP: “As we all know, shorthand is a tricky beast to master and an unknown word or phrase can throw you during an exam or interview, costing you vital seconds and potentially impacting your ability to read back your transcript.

“When I was learning shorthand, I certainly never came across some of the words which have been included in our glossary, meaning they could very easily throw someone off whilst writing.

“In terms of students, whilst they learn the grammar rules of Teeline and the main shortcuts to help them gain speed during their exams, seeing a word written in Teeline is always helpful in making shorthand second-nature.

“I know for a fact seeing words and phrases written out in Teeline not only helped add that word to my memory bank but help me to transcribe similar words in different contexts.

“That all being said, we felt it was important to create this glossary and share it during Pride Month because, as I previously mentioned, we have not come across anything similar before.

“We always want to ensure the voices and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community are represented in journalism, be that in newsrooms or in Teeline outlines.”