|
|
|
|
Advertising Opportunities Permissions & Licensing Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright
|
|
||||||||||||
| American Television, News
Gallegus was initially reluctant to come out on the job. But as he became more secure in his position and met other gay people at CBS, he found the environment in the newsroom an accepting one. "I realized that I had nothing to worry about. And it hasn't been any issue at all," he told James Hillis. Steve Kmetko (b. 1953) and Jason Bellini (b. 1975) may have had a somewhat less difficult time in coming out as newscasters because they have been identified with entertainment news, rather than--as in the case of Marquez and Kofman--war reporting or politics though both have also done their share of such serious reporting. Kmetko is best known for his long association with the E! cable network reporting on celebrities, but he had extensive experience as a news anchor in local markets before specializing in entertainment news. He came out on the cover of The Advocate in 1999, then considered a brave if not exactly foolhardy thing to do. He told Sean Kennedy that he saw no damage to his career as a result of his decision to come out publicly and has never regretted it. "Quite frankly, age is more of a hindrance at this point in my career than being gay," he observed. Bellini, who worked as a CNN news correspondent from 1998 until 2005, is now best known for his stint as the lead news anchor for CBS News on Logo from 2006 to 2008, where he reported primarily on gay stories. He was openly gay in press interviews almost from the very beginning of his career at CNN. In 2003, he was the youngest embedded newsman during the initial American invasion of Iraq. Bellini's explanation of his decision to be out on the job is similar to that given by Marquez and Yang: a matter of honesty. He told James Hillis, "Skirting that issue [of sexual orientation], saying it's nobody's business, I think that's disingenuous. Because if people are interested in you outside of the parameters of your job itself, and you ignore [being gay], then you're ignoring an important part of yourself. And that's not honest." Richard Rodriguez (b. 1944) and Jonathan Capehart are regular contributors to news broadcasts, but are not themselves television correspondents, and both were out before they were hired as contributors. Rodriguez is best known as a writer, especially a memoirist. But as a regular essayist for PBS's Newshour, he has gained a large audience of appreciative fans of his thoughtful and nuanced analyses of topics in the news. He frequently discusses the experience of Latinos in the United States. Although homosexuality is not his most frequent topic, he does not shy away from the issue; and he typically positions himself as an outsider in America, not merely because of his ethnicity but also because of his sexuality. Jonathan Capehart is a regular contributor to MSNBC shows, including Morning Joe and other day-time news shows. He is a member of the Washington Post editorial board and writes about politics and social issues for the newspaper. Before joining the Post in 2007, he was a member of the New York Daily News editorial board, where he shared the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Capehart has been a prominent gay journalist for many years, writing for The Advocate and Out magazine and serving as a correspondent for the gay television newsprogram In the Life. He is active in the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. Clearly, his openness has neither harmed his career nor compromised his professionalism.
|
|
||||||||||||
|
This Entry Copyright © 2002, glbtq, Inc. www.glbtq.com
is produced by glbtq, Inc., 1130 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL
60607 glbtq™ and its logo are trademarks of glbtq, Inc. |