The Soup Cans Interview: Thomas Roberts

Former CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts is one of the most visible openly gay news anchors in the country. This week he spoke to me about the Catholic Church, being openly gay in the business and his newest gig with the Advocate. Read on:

You've been the host of "Advocate On-Air" since February. How did you become involved with the show?

I first starting talking with the folks over at The Advocate when I did a cover story with them on journalists who are openly gay or lesbian. This was in the summer of '08. They approached me at the end of '09 with the idea of The Advocate On-Air. I thought it sounded like a great project and I was glad to jump on board.

What do you hope the LGBT community gets from the show?

I hope the LGBT community gets informed, inspired and entertained from the stories featured. But more importantly - I hope ALL people get something from this show. These stories are for ALL people - our brothers, sisters, parents and friends. The more informed we ALL are the better. So my hope is that the link gets forwarded all the time to all people.

It's been almost four years since you publicly acknowledged that you were gay. Looking back, how do you think being an out newsman has affected your career since?

It has allowed me to have an honesty about my life and I find that invaluable. It wasn't easy...and sometimes being a pioneer means getting some arrows in the back. Great risk can come with great reward....and I am glad to have some of this hard work behind me.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change the time and/or place you publicly came out?

The funny thing is I never thought I was "in." Everyone at CNN knew my personal life as did other people in the broadcast industry. I attended an event for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalism Association. I was asked to be a panelist for a discussion and I agreed. It never dawned on me that bloggers there would cover it as "news" However, when it ended up on Perez Hilton I knew it was a big deal.

How do you feel about outing high profile gays and lesbians who are in the closet?

I am not a fan of outing people. But there are a few people I wish would "grow a pair" and come out already.

The rest of the interview with Roberts after the jump. Read what the sexual abuse survivor (in 2007, he revealed he was abused by his priest as a teen) has to say about the Catholic Church and his long-term partner.


You and your partner, Patrick, have been together since 1999 though I'm not sure how it all started. How did the two of you meet?

We actually met in 2000. Wikipedia has the year we met listed incorrectly. I was invited to a going away party for someone who was moving from North Carolina to Pennsylvania. I went and the party turned out to be for Patrick. We started dating shortly after that.

How does he feel about your highly visible television career?

Patrick is a very private person. But opposites attract and we do a good job of balancing each other out. He is always proud of my career and what I have accomplished.

You were recently included on a panel on the Larry King Show discussing the sex scandal in the Catholic Church. Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, who was also present, said towards the end of the program that "The vast majority of the victims are post-pubescent. That’s not pedophilia...That’s homosexuality." What do you want to say to Donohue that you didn't have time to say on the show?

If you look back on the show Donohue prior to that said...

DONOHUE: "It's already gotten better. The time-line of the damage was the mid-'60s to the mid-'80s. But Ratzinger has taken a number of steps. It's harder for practicing homosexuals to get into the priesthood. That's a very good thing. Like father said before, we've only had six cases of allegations in the last year or so. "

And what he said wasn't originally challenged. I had to say that it is not a homosexual problem...

ROBERTS: "Bill is good. But you cannot link homosexuality to a pedophilia crisis in the Catholic church. "

I would like to ask Bill what he would say to all the little girls who have survived sexual abuse at the hands of priests. This is not a heterosexual problem or a homosexual problem...this is a criminal problem and a collar should protect no criminal.

How do you feel about, not just the Catholic Church, but religion in general?

I don't believe people should use religion to spew hate or intolerance.

You've been an east coaster for much of your life and moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. Your thoughts on the city?

LA takes some work...but the weather is always nice :)

Click Here To Read More...

The Soup Cans Interview: Jane Velez-Mitchell

Long-time news journo Jane Velez-Mitchell, who hosts "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" on HLN, recently chatted with Soup Cans about her career and her recently published book, “IWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life.” Keep reading to find out what she had to say about those topics as well as what it's like to be an openly gay television news journalist and more.

What message do you want people who read your new book to come away with?

I want people to realize that every consumer choice they make throughout the course of their day is not just a personal choice. It is a political, environmental and – more than anything else – a moral choice.
So, if you don’t believe in cruelty to animals then don’t subsidize factory farming by buying meat from factory farms. If you don’t want our oceans to fill up with plastic, don’t use plastic bottles or plastic bags, it’s that simple. I would also like to encourage people to opt for honesty. It’s almost always an option even when you don’t think it is.

You write that you’re still searching for your ultimate bliss. Do you know many people who have found their ultimate bliss early in life?

I can’t speak for anyone else but me. My bliss comes in the form of a daily reprieve from the horrors of alcoholism and the opportunity to do something for the voiceless on a regular basis. Also, occasional karaoke! As for stuff and status, I tried that and it didn’t work!

In what way do you think addiction caused you the most pain in life?

When you’re an addict you’re not really there. The dichotomy of addiction is: the happier an alcoholic acts, the more she is desperately trying to escape painful feelings! But, the pain just festers. So, now I get to sit through the old feelings in sobriety and process them the way I should have originally.

Has your mother read your book? If so, what's been her reaction to your candidness?

My 93 year old mother is the last generation of vaudeville performers. Her reaction to my book and my coming out was: “Darling, when I was with Xavier Cugat, we were all like that!”

Does Jane think being an uncloseted new journo has been a bad thing for her? Find out after the jump...


Did you once (or do you now) believe that being an out gay television host might negatively effect your career? If so, how?

My coming out as gay has not only NOT negatively impacted my career, it’s actually been a plus! People love it when you reveal yourself for who you really are. The fact is most people are pretty much obsessed with themselves so they don’t really care who you fall in love with. All the fear I had about coming out was self-generated. The sky didn’t fall down. The sun came up the next morning. Eureka!

How do you feel about being included in this year's Out Magazine's "Out 100?"

I’m thrilled to be included. I just wish I had come out a long time ago because then my picture would have been of someone so much younger and hotter! But, hey, there’s always airbrushing!

Click Here To Read More...

The Soup Cans Interview: Paul Mueller

Paul Mueller has been in the television news business for 15 years and during that time, not once has he felt the need to come out of the closet. That's because he's always been open about his sexuality. The openly gay news anchor has toiled on news desks all over the country but has recently found his way back home on home turf in New England, this time anchoring over at ABC affiliate WLNE-TV. Mueller spoke to Soup Cans about his life as an out news anchor and he also shared with us his thoughts about the recent departure from WHDH of his friend and long-time Boston anchor Randy Price. Mueller told us that "Randy has ended yet another chapter of his life." He added, "If I know Randy, he has many more chapters to go. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see him pop up at another station in Boston in the future. Not only is he one of the few remaining distinguished journalists on the Boston landscape, he's also a very good guy who's always willing to help young journalists further their career."

Why is it that there are so few visible gay news anchors?

Why are there so few visible gay anchors? I think this is, in part, because most general managers would rather hire a straight man as their main anchor. Sure, the gay and lesbian community has come a long way in the last few decades but as one of the main faces of the station, I think management tends to avoid gay men and lesbians as they cater to their audiences. Of course, there are a handful of gay anchors I know. Some are out, others are not. I've always been very forthcoming about my sexuality with management. Being gay just adds an extra dimension to a person's personality. As for management at my station, I think being gay was actually a plus when being chosen as the early afternoon anchor and lead nightside reporter. There are plenty of gay reporters out there but, of course, they are in very different roles. They are not the main faces of the station.

Read on to hear Mueller's thoughts about ditching the news business, why an anchor's "coming out" is his/her own prerogative and how he has to explain to some of his admiring viewers that just because he's missing a wedding band from his ring finger doesn't mean that he's looking for a wife.


What are some of the biggest challenges facing gay news anchors?

I think as news anchors, we face so many challenges each and every day, regardless of whether we are gay, straight, or somewhere in between. Can Joe and Mary Bluejean relate to an openly gay anchor? Of course, to answer that question would be to make a sweeping generalization. Some could. Other's couldn't. It's so important that the audience connects with the anchor team and it's up to each and every individual and their willingness to watch a gay news anchor. On the lighter side of things, I receive plenty of emails asking if I'm single since I don't wear a wedding ring and I always reply by saying -- you know, I'm not in a relationship but I try to keep work separate from my personal life. If they press on with another email, that's when I respectfully tell them that I'm interested in men, not women.

With such an attitude shift about gays and lesbians in the country lately, what do you think about the possibility of seeing a major closeted network or cable news anchor coming out sometime soon?

I have many friends who are correspondents for the networks who are gay, and many of them are very open about it. Of course it's up to the individual whether he or she decides to come out. I don't believe it's up to anyone else to "out" them. There are several major cable news anchor who I can think of who are gay that haven't publicly revealed their sexual orientation. Do they need to? That's really a decision they have to make based on their confidence level. We want to be seen as journalists and not the gay journalist. Sometimes coming out seems to muddy the waters and makes viewers more concerned about sexual orientation than story content and delivery.

Television news is a tough business. Was there ever a moment during your career that you thought you should just ditch it and try something else?

I'd be lying if I said no. I think television news is one of the toughest, cut-throat businesses there are. I was laid off as the weekend anchor from the WB affiliate after the station owners sold to another station. From there, I freelanced for quite some time. I even went out to Seattle to try a change of location. To say it didn't work would be a complete understatement. It was in Seattle that I really questioned if I had come to the end of the line in my career. The phone wasn't ringing. Freelance work was tough to get. I almost threw in the towel but luckily didn't. I've now come back home and continue to do what I love.

Over the years, you've bounced back and forth from New England to other parts of the country. How does it feel to back working in the region once again?

It's always good to be home and close to family and friends. I started off in Tyler, Texas and lived there for 2 years and made countless trips back home to Boston because I missed New England so much. There's nothing like being in the area I grew up in and know the people, political figures, ways to correctly say the names of cities and towns because I've been there. There's nothing better than getting a status report from my mother as to my performance on the news that night!

What story in your career has affected you the most?

This is a timely question. We're coming up on the 6th anniversary of the Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. I was one of the first reporters on the scene that frigid February night. The building went up in flames in a mere 3 minutes. People were piled one on top of the other just feet from freedom. They are images that will never leave me. I had never seen that much emergency equipment in my life, that many emergency responders. I'll never forget the look on people's faces as they walked aimlessly in the street, having been in the club just minutes before and now it was reduced to nothing but rubble. We all know about the 6 Degrees of Separation. In Rhode Island, since it is such a small state, it's more like 1/6 of a Degree of Separation. Out of the 100 people killed that night and 200 others injured, Rhode Islanders either knew one of those people or knew of someone who knew one of those injured or killed. I had worked for 10 hours that day before being rushed out the door to cover the fire. For the next 12 hours, I was on the air. It's something I will never, ever forget.

Who are your journalistic heroes?

Who are my journalistic heroes? Hmm, good question. I have to say Edward R. Murrow to start, Peter Jennings, one of my mentors Jeffrey Kofman of ABC News, and longtime aviation reporter now consultant to NBC Bob Hagar. I'm an avid aviation buff and there's no one who can tell a story like him. Also Steve Hartmann and the photographer he often works with, Les Rose. They did a segment for CBS called "Everyone has a story." The two of them were a dream team that really made stories come alive.

Click Here To Read More...