David W. Dunlap is a New York Times reporter specializing in the history of architecture and land developments in the vicinity of New York City. He is the author and photographer of On Broadway: A Journey Uptown over Time, which won a Citation of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. He is also the co-author and photographer of Glory in Gotham: Manhattan's Houses of Worship and the photographer of The City Observed: New York . From 1994-1999, Dunlap covered the gay, lesbian and AIDS beat for the New York Times .
The New York Times introduced its first official gay and lesbian beat in October 1994. Dunlap, a member of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) was a real estate reporter for the paper before he began following gay and lesbian issues for the Metro and National sections. The decision to officially document gay and lesbian news for the Times had its origin in conversations between editors Rich Meislin, Joe Lelyweld and Dunlap following the AIDS-related death of reporter Jeffrey Schmaltz in November 1993. Schmaltz pioneered serious and organized reporting on gay, lesbian and AIDS issues for the Times . Dunlap said he hoped to "expand what readers of the Times understand to be the lesbian and gay communities geographically, economically, racially, ethnically, politically, and spirituality." He was sometimes criticized for covering the news from a politically left position, and ignoring gay and lesbians in the conservative, Republican and libertarian communities.
From the guide to the David W. Dunlap papers, 1993-1999, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)
