KQED’s Scott Shafer turned up on “CBS This Morning” today in a news segment about Anderson Cooper’s announcement that he is gay. Shafer, who has been out since college, posts that he was initially a bit unsure about going on national TV to talk about the issue, not for any gender-related reason, but, as he puts it: “I said sure, then wondered, ‘What the hell am I going to say?’”
Of his own experience coming out long ago, he blogs:
I came out 34 years ago, in college, long before I was a journalist, and I didn't see any reason to “come out” on the air -- what difference would it make? But then in 2004 my partner and I got married at San Francisco City Hall – and while I wasn’t covering the same-sex marriage issue, I was going to interview others about it. So KQED management and I decided that I should disclose my marriage on-air. Which I did, in passing, during a question to a legal scholar.
The reaction was muted. A few emails, almost all positive -- “thanks for being honest,” that kind of thing.
You can watch the CBS interview here.
Image: KQED
