Her willingness to confront anti-gay activists, including those responsible for promoting the Ugandan "kill the gays" legislation, which would make homosexuality a crime punishable by death, has made Maddow a champion of the left generally, but especially of glbtq political wonks.

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A recent addition to the handful of openly gay newscasters is ABC World News Now anchor Dan Kloeffler (b. 1976). Formerly an anchor on MSNBC and Early Today, Kloeffler joined ABC in 2010.

In the wee hours of Sunday morning October 16, 2011, Kloeffler, co-anchoring World News Now, reported on the coming out of actor Zachary Quinto, who had told a New York magazine interviewer that he felt obligated to come out because of the recent spate of gay youth suicides. Kloeffler added, "He's 34, I'm 35. I'm thinking, I can lose my distraction about dating actors." Kloeffler's casual coming out on national television mimicked the actor's casual coming out but also reflected the increasingly accepting climate in television newsrooms.

In his ABC News blog, Kloeffler elaborated on his decision to come out on air: "I've never shared that I'm gay on-air, even though I've been out to my family, friends and co-workers for years. In fact, an old boyfriend--now best friend--has always given me a hard time about not doing so. But for the same reason that Zach decided to come out, I too, no longer wanted to hide this part of my life."

Kloeffler added: "As a journalist, I don't want to be the story, but as a gay man I don't want to stand silent if I can offer some inspiration or encouragement to kids that might be struggling with who they are."

Another recently out television news anchor is Steve Kornacki (b. 1979). Kornacki first came to national attention as a political writer. He published articles in the New York Observer, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Daily Beast, among others, did a stint as host of a political news show for a New Jersey television station, and reported for Roll Call before becoming senior political writer at Salon.com.

In 2011, Kornacki came out in a moving, though painful essay in Salon.com, which recounted his difficulties in identifying as a gay man. In 2012, he became a co-host of The Cycle on MSNBC with political strategist Krystal Ball, pop-culture commentator Touré, and conservative columnist S.E. Cupp. On March 19, 2013, it was announced that Kornacki would also host another MSNBC program, Up, which airs on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The most influential openly gay television journalist is Anderson Cooper, whose homosexuality was an open secret for years, but was only confirmed in 2012, when he came out in an e-mail to his friend Andrew Sullivan.

Cooper is anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360 and also hosts a syndicated daytime talk show, Anderson. He is also a correspondent for the CBS news program, 60 Minutes. He has won several Emmy Awards for his reporting and was the recipient of the coveted Peabody Award for his coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

After his graduation from Yale in 1989, Cooper got his journalistic start as a fact checker for the small news agency Channel One, which produces a youth-oriented news program that is broadcast to many junior high and high schools in the United States, and then graduated to reporting from exotic locales, often in war-torn areas such as Burma, Vietnam, Somalia, Bosnia, and Rwanda.

In 1995, Cooper became a correspondent for ABC News, eventually rising to the position of co-anchor on its overnight World News Now program on September 21, 1999. He also contributed segments to ABC's 20/20.

Cooper moved to CNN in 2001 to co-anchor with Paula Zahn on American Morning. In 2002 he became CNN's weekend prime-time anchor and on September 8, 2003, he was made anchor of Anderson Cooper 360°.

Cooper gained particular prominence for his reporting from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. His hard-hitting questioning of politicians and officials in the aftermath of the disaster made him a superstar journalist.