On July 18, usual "NBC Nightly News" anchor Lester Holt was out for the evening. In his place for the evening's newscast was Thomas Roberts, who also currently serves as anchor of "MSNBC Live." Now what's so special about this anchor taking over for Holt that evening, you ask? Roberts made history that evening by becoming the first openly gay man to anchor a nightly newscast on a major network.
Among Roberts's stories discussed that evening were Donald Trump's controversial remarks about Senator John McCain (Roberts, himself, also had a bone to pick with Trump after Trump's racist claims about Mexican immigrants during his presidential campaign speech. After NBC and Macy's (among others) cut ties with Trump because of his comment, Roberts announced on June 30 that he would no longer be hosting the Miss USA Pageant, which Trump sponsored), the death of the fifth victim and further investigations on the Chattanooga, Tennessee shooting, and the increase in cases of Lyme disease in the Northeast and Central U.S. He also covered for Holt as anchor the following evening.
Roberts is not alone in the small amount of news anchors and reporters that are in the LGBTQ category. In 2012, "Good Morning America" weatherman Sam Champion came out in a New York Times article about Roberts's marriage to Patrick Abner. Champion also stated in the article about his wedding plans with his then-partner Rubem Robierb. Another "Good Morning America" alum, co-anchor Robin Roberts, followed Champion's suit and came out about year later when she posted a letter on her Facebook page thanking those for their support during her battle with myleodysplastic syndrome. Among the people she thanked in her heartfelt letter was her long time girlfriend Amber Laign.
The LGBTQ community is now becoming more accepted by society than ever, especially with the nationwide legalization of same sex marriage back in June. In terms of news, more and more stories about the LGBTQ community are being told to the public. Not only have more of the stories came out to the public, but so have the storytellers. More and more broadcast journalists have been coming out to the public. Among the other broadcast personalities that have came out recently are Anderson Cooper, Jenna Wolfe, and Rachel Maddow (who, during a taping of her MSNBC show back in 2011, encouraged gay and lesbian news anchors to come out).
This great accomplish in the LGBTQ community has helped to further drive the need for diversity among major news networks. In the early days of broadcast journalism, the stories that were being told were mostly by straight white men. Although dynamic journalists such as Edward Murrow and Walter Cronkite have made an important impact on society during their prime, journalists who have come from different backgrounds have proven to become just as powerful today. Some journalists can even relate to the stories being told, which gives their audiences a deeper understanding to the message being told.
Unfortunately, like any other profession, LGBTQ journalists are still faced with the hardships of criticism and hatred by those who are against the LGBTQ community. Even with the passing of laws that help prevent discrimination and harassment, that doesn't mean it's going to stop altogether. For example, back in June, Michelle Demishevich, the first transgender television reporter in Turkey, was beaten up by police officers while trying to attend a press statement in Istanbul.
In the world of journalism (especially broadcast journalism), the number one goal of any journalist is to find out the facts and report them to the public in an appropriate and accurate manner. There should not be any discrimination over who reports the news based on a person's race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. If there's a story out there that the public should be informed about, then somebody has to report on it. It shouldn't matter who reports it. As long as the information is accurate and informative to audiences, that should be all that matters.
(You can watch the July 18 edition of "NBC Nightly News" with Thomas Roberts as anchor by clicking the link here. )
