The Journalist Who Changed How We See Gay Ameri | Washgton Monthly

Contents:

• ON AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY REPORTER AT A MAJOR NEWSPAPER
• THE JOURNALIST WHO CHANGED HOW WE SEE GAY AMERI
• WHEN GAY JOURNALISTS WERE CLOSETED: A HISTORY OF AIDS COVERAGE AT 'THE TIM'
• HOW GAY MEN SAVED US FROM MPOX
• WHO'S GAY ON TV? DADS, JOURNALISTS, INVTIGATORS AND FOOTMEN

ON AMERI’S FIRST OPENLY GAY REPORTER AT A MAJOR NEWSPAPER

Frank BniColumnist, The New York Tim@FrankBniFormerly the chief rtrant cric for The New York Tim, Bni ma history 2011 by beg the Grey Lady's first out gay lumnist. The Emerson College assistant profsor is also a producer of the upg film Michael, based on his Tim Magaze piece about his "ex-gay" iend.

Kate FaganWrer, ESPN@KateFagan3ESPN ntributor and lumnist Kate Fagan wr about basketball (and genr and sexism and homophobia) om a place of knowledge and ep, personal appreciatn.

Amerin Charl Perez of ABC News is one to particularly note - he published his book 'Confsns of a Gay News Anchorman' (2011) after his oral of beg fired om a posn Florida when he was intified as beg gay.

THE JOURNALIST WHO CHANGED HOW WE SEE GAY AMERI

For example, France, there is L'associatn s journalist LGBT, and Ameri there is the Natnal Lbian & Gay Journalists Associatn. Among the roughly dozen reporters on the b that day, five were gay—part of a terie of LGBTQ journalists verg the first mastream openly gay printial ndidate.

A number of gay natnal rrponnts have foced on Buttigieg, too, a list that clus Josh Lerman, an NBC News natnal polil reporter; Chris Johnson of the Washgton Bla; Jeremy Peters of the New York Tim, and the Washgton Post’s Chelsea Jan and opn wrer Jonathan Capehart. For others, ’s tentnal: They put their hands up, fascated by the chance to ver the first openly gay top tier printial ndidate.

WHEN GAY JOURNALISTS WERE CLOSETED: A HISTORY OF AIDS COVERAGE AT 'THE TIM'

Over the past 12 months, om New Hampshire to Iowa, the gay reporters on the Buttigieg beat have wnsed and reported on anti-gay hecklg at stops D Mo, Iowa, and Marshalltown, Iowa. “Havg so many LGBTQ reporters verg this mpaign has helped facilate a more thoughtful and nuanced nversatn about what means to be gay 2020.

In November, on a three-day b tour of Iowa, I asked Buttigieg what meant to him that the majory of reporters routely verg him were also gay.

HOW GAY MEN SAVED US FROM MPOX

” “We knew to ask if he expected any tensn at the Thanksgivg table om some of his ls gay-iendly -laws, ” Bixby, who was there, says. ’ It’s, ‘Pete is gay and I’m gay, so I know that a qutn about this specific experience is gog to produce an tertg or illumatg answer. It was a ary veteran and person of fah “who jt let me know ’s OK to be a Christian veteran gay Amerin, but I did not grow up wh a lot of out gay people my life, ” he rpond.

WHO'S GAY ON TV? DADS, JOURNALISTS, INVTIGATORS AND FOOTMEN

“It’s helped facilate really ep, thoughtful nversatns about what was like to be the closet up until his 30s, what was like g out, how affected him as a young man, how affects him today on the mpaign, ” Smh says of the fact that gay reporters are verg the mpaign.

As a black and gay journalist, the Post’s Capehart has had an even more sgular wdow to Buttigieg’s mpaign, particularly as he has stggled to w over black voters. In a November 2019 lumn headled “The ugly lie about black voters and Pete Buttigieg, ” Capehart tackled the stereotype that Ain Amerins stat such as South Carola are homophobic. “You are verg somethg that is unprecented, which is a major openly gay printial ndidate havg to ntend wh protters shoutg vulgari about their sexualy at them durg a mpaign event, ” says Lerman, who documented the episo for NBC News.