Famous gay news anchors
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Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent
A few caveats about who is eligible for the list: Only those media figures who are publicly out are included. They soon became parents once again to their second daughter, now eight-year-old Quinn.
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Speaking at the event Further with Fordin 2014, Jenna said of coming out: "I know every little move I've made along my windy way, running around with boys at the grade school, playing sports in high school, covering sports when a few women were doing it, and finally announcing my pregnancy and coming out on national TV, all of that, all of that, has been my way of saying, what gender roles?"
Read more HELLO!
The 62-year-old and Amber have been together for nearly 18 years, and even plan to tie the knot this year. They tied the knot the following year and have been inseparable in their journeys on-screen and off ever since.
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Gio opened up about his coming out journey on ABC News last year, saying: "Just give yourself the grace of time and understand that it doesn't have to be rushed.
So I'm very blessed."
Rachel Maddow
Host of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC and a prominent political commentator, what differentiates Rachel from others on the list is her openness about her sexuality since the start of her career.
Having been outed when she was a college freshman at Stanford University, she began her career in broadcast journalism as one of the only prominent lesbians on TV.
Since 1999, the 56-year-old has been in a relationship with artist Susan Mikula and has since won several GLAAD Awards for her work.
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Rachel, 50, told Slate in 2011 about how little impact her sexuality has on her abilities as a journalist, adding: "I've never made [editorial decisions] as a straight person.
That's your headline?'"
Gio Benitez
The newly announced anchor of ABC's Good Morning America Weekends, Gio became a part of the network in 2013, but didn't make his relationship status, or his sexuality, public until 2015.
It was then that he announced he was engaged to fitness influencer and fellow TV reporter for The Rachael Ray Show and Extra Tommy DiDario.
Inside their complex relationship
The 56-year-old has since become the first LGBTQ+ person to moderate a presidential debate and is a father to two sons (Wyatt, three, and Sebastian, one) with ex-partner Benjamin Maisani.
As part of CNN's Full Circle in 2021, Anderson said of coming out: "It made me a better person, it made me a better reporter...
I've only made these decisions as a gay person.
"I don't know what it would be like to be doing this show as a straight person and make different editorial decisions, but I feel like gay rights issues get considered like all others."
Thomas Roberts
The host of DailyMailTV and former MSNBC anchor Thomas was one of the very first network TV journalists to have his coming out story become part of a nationwide conversation.
The now 50-year-old publicly declared that he was gay in 2006 while speaking at the annual convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association, citing it as the "biggest step" when it came to his sexuality journey.
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In 2011, a day after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, he revealed he was engaged to Patrick Abner (his partner since 2000), and they were married the following year.
However, their story had a happy ending, as he continued: "Before he died, he looked at me…And he said, 'I'm proud of the man that you became.' And that was everything!"
Anderson Cooper
The leading man of CNN, the anchor of Anderson Cooper 360 and 60 Minutes correspondent is considered one of the most successful and prominent openly gay journalists on TV.
A member of the Vanderbilt family, he frequently avoided discussing his personal life till 2012, when he allowed Andrew Sullivan to publish an email in which he wrote: "The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be."
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Oh!' Meanwhile the public was going like, 'Uh, duh! Or Christiane Amanpour and her stories from so many hot spots around the globe.
We in the LGBTQ+ community have our own heroes: LGBTQ+ journalists who have shown courage and resolve by telling the truth, including their own personal truths, whatever the cost and whatever the difficulties.
Established in 2005 as part of NLGJA’s 15th anniversary celebration, the LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame was launched to make sure that their stories are told and preserved — not just for us, but for all journalists and for our readers and viewers.
The journalists honored here are true heroes.
US stories here
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Jenna Wolfe
Former Today Show correspondent, sportscaster, and co-anchor of Weekend Today, Jenna came out as a lesbian in 2013 on the air in the most heartfelt way.
She announced on Today that she and partner Stephanie Gosk, also an NBC News correspondent, were expecting their first child, welcoming a daughter later that year, Harper, now nine.
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All of us hope that these stories will inspire you as they inspire us.”– Kenneth Jost, LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame founder