Petrelis Files

CNN's Cooper Gave to Gay GOP Pol; Time's Cloud Funds LA Candidate

Many gay bloggers, especially at AmericaBlog.com, lust after CNN's Anderson Cooper who sidesteps answering questions about his personal life and sexual orientation. Just last month in a New York magazine profile, the matter of his possible gay orientation came up.

"There has been a lot of chatter on the Internet about the fact that Cooper may or may not be gay, and Village Voice columnist Michael Musto has taken pleasure in quoting the gay magazine Metrosource, which has referred to Cooper as 'the openly gay news anchor.' It has been assumed in certain circles in New York partly because he lives what looks to some to be a gay social life [...] When I bring up the sexuality issue with Cooper, he says, 'You know, I understand why people might be interested. But I just don’t talk about my personal life. It’s a decision I made a long time ago, before I ever even knew anyone would be interested in my personal life. The whole thing about being a reporter is that you’re supposed to be an observer and to be able to adapt with any group you’re in, and I don’t want to do anything that threatens that.'"

While I gave Cooper much credit for not being troubled that some gays and others believe he may be gay, I do take issue with his comments about his journalistic commitment to being an observer of events and doesn't want to do anything that jeopardizes his reporting credentials.

Like too many other reporters, Cooper has donated money to a politician running for national office. In 2001, when he worked at ABC News, Cooper donated $250 to Rick Elser, a GOP candidate challenging Rep. Rosa De Lauro, Democrat of Connecticut.

You'd never know from his official site, which makes no mention of his sexual orientation, but Elser is semi-openly gay. If he were totally out, he would have said so on his campaign's site.

To learn about his gayness, I Googled "gay Elser" and the second result was for a terrific article in the Yale Daily News from 2001 about gays shattering Yale's closet. Prominently featured was Elser.

Since Cooper is so concerned about anything threatening his journalistic independence and impartiality, vis a vis rumors of his gayness, a question must be asked about why he donates money to a GOP congressional candidate, who is gay, and that doesn't threaten his integrity, but addressing his romantic life is taboo?

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Speaking of reporters' contributions to politicians, Time magazine's John Cloud, who's openly gay, made three donations to a Los Angeles, California, candidate, Eric Garcetti, who's openly straight. Cloud gained notoriety and caused a pitched controversy when he performed journalistic cunnilingus with a fawning cover story on nutty conservative pundit Ann Coulter back in April.

I don't know if Cloud's three donations to Garcetti violate Time's standards of ethics because I couldn't find the magazine's journalistic guidelines on its web site, unlike the New York Times which proudly posts their rules for reporters.

I would bring the matter of Cloud's donations and whether they break Time's ethics about reporters donating to politicians to Time's ombudsman, if the magazine had one, but it doesn't. Actually, after searching Time's site and Googling, it was surprising to find there isn't a public editor at Time, even though I thought one had been appointed in 2001.

Anyone know if Cloud's donations are kosher with Time's ethics?

08/30/04
John Cloud
(Journalist, Time Inc.)
New York, NY 10002-4695
$200
Eric Garcetti
Council Member - CD13

06/30/00
John Cloud
(Journalist, Time Magazine)
New York, NY 10018
$250
Eric Garcetti
Council Member - CD13

12/15/00 John Cloud
(Journalist, Time Magazine)
New York, NY 10018
$250
Eric Garcetti
Council Member - CD13