Thomas Roberts - first openly gay major TV news anchor |

gay reporters on nbc

The first openly gay printial ndidate to mount a major mpaign has attracted an equally pneerg prs rps.

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JENNA WOLFE, TODAY SHOW ANCHOR, COM OUT AS GAY, ANNOUNC SHE’S EXPECTG A BABY GIRL WH GIRLIEND STEPHANIE GOSK

Neda Ulaby looks at the current landspe of gay characters on televisn, om the hight brows of Downton Abbey to the surprisgly welg world of realy shows. * gay reporters on nbc *

“I mentned to an assignment edor as a story we should ver, and I’ll never fet that person’s rponse: somethg along the l of, ‘Gay rights? I don’t give a damn about gay rights. NBC Out shows feature stori, origal vios and other unique ntent about, and of tert to, the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer muny.

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

Anyone noticg the new batch of young, prumably gay, reporters at NBC? My gaydar rgs off the hook when I watch the news the days. * gay reporters on nbc *

“It’s not always easy beg gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenr. In a special appearance on Today and, later, a blog on the show's webse, the 39-year-old NBC rrponnt me out as gay and announced that she and her girliend, fellow NBC journalist Stephanie Gosk, are expectg a dghter at the end of Augt. 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.13.

MSNBC HIR ANOTHER GAY ANCHOR (WHO JT CAME OUT 2 YEARS AGO)

A look at how Rob Roberts of “Good Morng Ameri” and other news anchors broke the news that they are gay. * gay reporters on nbc *

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.50. The pop culture gay flavor of the mute? Whe gay dads.

" It's a mi-boomlet, says real-life whe gay dad and soclogy profsor Joshua Gamson.

GAYLG NBC REPORTERS

Thomas Roberts Be First Openly Gay Eveng News Anchor On Network TV * gay reporters on nbc *

Not too long ago, he says, pop culture maly fed gay men as promiscuo and viant, rather than monogamo and voted to their fai. "It do seem like a strong unter-stereotype of how gay men have been portrayed over the past, whatever, 50 years, " he says. "Morn Fay troduced to the whole world of gaybi, " he noted.

Mutchnik's latt show, lled Partners, also gay-themed, was recently nceled. But Mutchnick says any show wh openly gay characters should reflect people dienc uld know their real liv. So we see gay men and lbians real life wh babi — or "gaybi, " if you will.

THOMAS ROBERTS HOSTS ‘NBC NIGHTLY NEWS’ AS FIRST OPENLY GAY NETWORK ANCHOR: TWTER REACTS

* gay reporters on nbc *

Meanwhile, gay TV pneer Ellen DeGener is a face of the multibilln-dollar smetic pany Cover Girl, and televisn overflows wh gay and lbian characters, om the pudgy bro Max on the ABC show Happy Endgs to the csadg lbian journalist on the ble h Amerin Horror Story. "I was a ltle sad gay boy growg up Indiana, " he rells. "And my visns of what was gay were what I saw on TV.

NBC PHILLIP MENA B, AGE, MARRIED, GAY

" Gay dienc clung to what they had — signifiers and stereotyp — says Dave Kohan, Mutchnick's non-gay llaborator. " he says, referrg to an early 1980s s starrg Tony Randall as a wealthy gay man livg wh a ltle girl and her mom.

"He wasn't gay, he was shy, " Kohan wryly observed.

Today, there's no ntroversy at all when Glee, arguably the gayt show on work televisn, mols what 's like to be a gay kid or how to parent one. If anythg, Murphy says, Glee has had to al wh a kd of oppose ntroversy — fans plag vociferoly about gay characters not beg affectnate enough wh each other.

THOMAS ROBERTS BE FIRST OPENLY GAY EVENG NEWS ANCHOR ON NETWORK TV

Last fall, Gallup released fdgs about s largt poll ever about gay Amerins. Slightly more women intified as gay than men, and more Ain-Amerins, Asians and Latos said they were LGBT than wh. Sudnly, TV screens swelled wh gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr characters on realy shows, om Survivor to The Voice to RuPl's Drag Race.

WATCH: 'REPORTG TONIGHT: THOMAS ROBERTS,' FIRST OUT GAY MAN TO ANCHOR NETWORK NEWS

Right now, gay reprentatns on TV are seemgly boundls. There's even an entire gay ble channel, Logo.

And gay and straight dienc are relishg gay TV villas that not too long ago might have been emed offensive ritur.

Take Thomas, the evil gay footman on Downtown Abbey. That character once might have been seen as a homophobic stereotype. Now, he jt blends to an ever-expandg universe — one that's fact even bigger than the actual number of gay people the populatn.

NBC ELECTN ANALYST STEVE KORNACKI IS OPENLY GAY AND A BIG SPORTS FAN

A study by the Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn shows 4. 4 percent of characters on TV are gay. Gallup measur the actual percentage of gay Amerins as 3.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY REPORTERS ON NBC

Perez Alex - ABC News, Age, Gay, Weddg, B - Bgraphy .

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