Did they really get a Porn Star to replace Olbermann Today ?

[JI7]

i will be very sad if Keith doesn't come back on.

[TheWraith]

1. Where the fuck did that come from?

They used one of their daytime anchors.

[Raine]

2. NO

:eyes:

[snot]

3. Jeff Gannon's back?

[brewens]

4. Actually he was. He made movies under the name "Jumbo Driver".

Just kidding. :rofl:

[Meldread]

5. WTF? Complete bullshit.

Thomas Roberts was the man who filled in for Keith. He's one of the daytime anchor's / correspondents for MSNBC - primarily doing dayside coverage and weekend and overnight fill-ins.

If you check out his Biography (instead of slandering him), you realize that he's a straight shooter - a real journalist. He's worked for CBS News, an ABC affiliate (KLKN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska), a FOX affiliate (WFTX-TV in Fort Myers, Florida), and an NBC affiliate (WAVY-TV in Portsmouth-Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Virginia). At WAVY-TV, he co-anchored an afternoon newscast and was also the station's investigative/consumer correspondent. He's also worked for CNN (doing Headline News), and he received an Emmy nomination in 2002 for his investigation into a local puppy mill that was eventually shut down due to his reporting.

In his personal life he's publicly came out as a victim of sexual abuse in 2005 when he testified against Jerome F. Toohey Jr., a former Catholic priest who had abused him when he was a student at Calvert High College High School. Toohey plead guilty to the abuse charges and received a five year jail sentence, but served only 10 months before his sentence was converted in December of February 2006 with the remaining eight months to be served in home detention. Thomas then publicity discussed his abuse in a special segment on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 called "Sins of the Father" on March 12, 2007.

Thomas Roberts is also openly gay and has been in a relationship with Patrick D. Abner since 2000. He's turned down a People magazine offer to be one of the 50 Sexiest Bachelors, stating that: "I'm not a bachelor. I thought it would be false advertising."

He's also spoken out openly about the challenge for LGBT TV Anchors and the like.

So yes, this is a man with a great deal of integrity, and doesn't deserve to be slandered.

[pinboy3niner]

6. Treating a sexual abuse victim like the OP does is outrageous and offensive

Thanks for the summary of his bio. Roberts is an outstanding journalist and his current daytime news anchoring at MSNBC has been impressive. :thumbsup:

[JI7]

7. i didn't know anything about the guy when i posted that, i don't even know who he is

or what he looked like. but i do apologize for posting it knowing this about him.

i just posted based on some comment or joke someone made on olbermann's suspension.

but i should have looked him up first.

[Meldread]

11. Here is Thomas in his own words:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/09/roberts.btsc/index.html">TV anchor: I was sexually abused by Catholic priest

I became a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 14; the abuse lasted three years. It took me nearly 20 years to gather the strength to help put my abuser behind bars. Now, a year after "justice" was done, I am ready to tell my story publicly in ways I never have before.

....

Roughly a month after the abuse started, I attempted to commit suicide. I took a bottle of my mother's pills. I lined them up one-by-one on my maple dresser. I took them all and lay on my bed hoping to just fade away and die.

....

This story is so layered. For a long time, I couldn't talk about it without crying. But a year ago, CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper and CNN Senior Producer Charlie Moore approached me about telling and following my story. I was scared. I was scared of being so honest and televising this journey.

....

If this story compels even one person to seek help for being sexually abused, then it is all worth it. All it takes is telling one person. From there, strength grows and you can tell a second person and so on. Then you can finally have control of your life back.

------------

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2006/9/roberts.html?page=0,0">Life as an Openly Gay Journalist: CNN's Thomas Roberts

Rumors that CNN's Thomas Roberts had come out at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association conference in Florida last week must have seemed a little puzzling to the Headline News anchor. While Roberts did appear on a panel called “Off Camera: The Challenges for LGBT TV Anchors,” it was really only the most recent stage in a seven-year coming out process.

Roberts first came out as a gay journalist to co-workers at NBC affiliate WAVY-TV in Norfolk, VA, in 1999. In an exclusive interview with AfterElton.com, he described those first steps out of the closet: “It's painful to open up and trust people with something I was guarding with everything I had… (but) most of my fears have been put aside because of the kindness of the people I work with.”

....

Lesbian blogger and NLGJA panelist Pam Spaulding commented on her blog that some of the anchors seemed to feel that it was easier to be out to their co-workers than their viewers. Does Roberts feel that way? “That's a great question. It's true, with your co-workers, people you have coffee with, lunch with, daily face-to-face dialogue with, talk with about their lives, families, the ups and downs - with them, I want to feel I can talk about my life in the same way. It's a true give and take,” he answered.

“With viewers, there are moments we can give a little of ourselves, but the viewer at home isn't missing anything by not seeing that part of my life. I want viewers to find me to be an objective journalist…. There is not one journalist … who doesn't have a personal issue at times, but what you pride yourself on is your integrity as a journalist. I'm very proud of that, I've worked hard at that all my life. I won't throw that away.”

------------

My concern and worry is that people will misjudge Thomas Roberts for filling in for Keith - that they'll spread rumors, accusations, and lies about him in an attempt to discredit him. In an attempt to "punish" anyone who fills in during that time slot. This is why I felt it was important to bring his biography to light, so that people can judge him on his actual performance, rather than using him as an instrument to vent their anger.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. Hey...just a thought...

You said:

My concern and worry is that people will misjudge Thomas Roberts for filling in for Keith - that they'll spread rumors, accusations, and lies about him in an attempt to discredit him. In an attempt to "punish" anyone who fills in during that time slot. This is why I felt it was important to bring his biography to light, so that people can judge him on his actual performance, rather than using him as an instrument to vent their anger.

Could you see your way to this thread: Thomas Roberts to sub for Keith tonight and post the info you have posted here? I would, but it really doesn't seem to be my place as I didn't even know this information.

Thanks!

[Behind the Aegis]

8. How is asking if he was a 'porn star' "slander?"

[JI7]

9. not in itself, but i'm guessing a sexual joke about him might be offensive

when the person has been sexually abused. i might not have made it if i knew that about him.

[Behind the Aegis]

10. Hell, I didn't even know about that info.

I knew when he came out, but that was the extent as I don't watch TV news.

[Meldread]

12. It perhaps isn't slander in and of itself.

I couldn't know the OP's intention, but my worry is that people would target Thomas Roberts for filling in during Keith's time slot - making him the recipient of lies, rumors, and other false accusations. It's why I felt it was important to bring his biography to light, so that people could see that he's an individual with a great deal of integrity - to have people judge him based upon his performance rather than using him as an instrument to vent their anger. Allowing rumors to propagate about an innocent individual does NOTHING to serve our purposes.

Here is Thomas in his own words.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/09/roberts.btsc/index.html">TV anchor: I was sexually abused by Catholic priest

I became a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 14; the abuse lasted three years. It took me nearly 20 years to gather the strength to help put my abuser behind bars. Now, a year after "justice" was done, I am ready to tell my story publicly in ways I never have before.

....

Roughly a month after the abuse started, I attempted to commit suicide. I took a bottle of my mother's pills. I lined them up one-by-one on my maple dresser. I took them all and lay on my bed hoping to just fade away and die.

....

This story is so layered. For a long time, I couldn't talk about it without crying. But a year ago, CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper and CNN Senior Producer Charlie Moore approached me about telling and following my story. I was scared. I was scared of being so honest and televising this journey.

....

If this story compels even one person to seek help for being sexually abused, then it is all worth it. All it takes is telling one person. From there, strength grows and you can tell a second person and so on. Then you can finally have control of your life back.

------------

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2006/9/roberts.html?page=0,0">Life as an Openly Gay Journalist: CNN's Thomas Roberts

Rumors that CNN's Thomas Roberts had come out at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association conference in Florida last week must have seemed a little puzzling to the Headline News anchor. While Roberts did appear on a panel called “Off Camera: The Challenges for LGBT TV Anchors,” it was really only the most recent stage in a seven-year coming out process.

Roberts first came out as a gay journalist to co-workers at NBC affiliate WAVY-TV in Norfolk, VA, in 1999. In an exclusive interview with AfterElton.com, he described those first steps out of the closet: “It's painful to open up and trust people with something I was guarding with everything I had… (but) most of my fears have been put aside because of the kindness of the people I work with.”

....

Lesbian blogger and NLGJA panelist Pam Spaulding commented on her blog that some of the anchors seemed to feel that it was easier to be out to their co-workers than their viewers. Does Roberts feel that way? “That's a great question. It's true, with your co-workers, people you have coffee with, lunch with, daily face-to-face dialogue with, talk with about their lives, families, the ups and downs - with them, I want to feel I can talk about my life in the same way. It's a true give and take,” he answered.

“With viewers, there are moments we can give a little of ourselves, but the viewer at home isn't missing anything by not seeing that part of my life. I want viewers to find me to be an objective journalist…. There is not one journalist … who doesn't have a personal issue at times, but what you pride yourself on is your integrity as a journalist. I'm very proud of that, I've worked hard at that all my life. I won't throw that away.”

------------

[Behind the Aegis]

13. Valuable information.

Thank you for sharing.

I didn't take the OP's remarks to be anything other than a question, made to sound "humorous." I certainly understand your position. I don't, however, consider a "porn star" to be a bad thing; not saying you do, given your concern. But, that is what spawned my question. I have friends who are in the business and they are very nice people (well, except one person I know, and he isn't really a friend, so he doesn't count). Also, if he was...well, I'd want to know the titles of his movies because, let's face it, the man's a hottie!

[Meldread]

14. Oh, I agree.

My problem wasn't that he was being accused of being a porn star, it was the fact that it was a false accusation. I came off as a bit harsh, in large part because I wanted to try and nip a lie like that in the bud before it got a chance to spread. Internet rumors like that have a tendency to grow and expand extremely quick, and I was worried that if it circulated around it could effect his career. As someone up thread did - there was already the question of 'Another Jeff Gannon?'

I was worried that people would spread a false rumor in an effort to discredit Thomas Roberts because he was chosen to fill in Keith's slot. Obviously, that isn't fair to him.

That being said, I'm completely and totally supportive of not just the porn industry but the entire sex industry. When I made my first response, I thought about ending it with something along these lines: "And if he had been, so what? How does that interfere with his ability to be an objective journalist?"

However, I decided against doing it because I felt it created an unnecessary debate and distracted from my main point: that it's untrue.

Although, had it been true, I won't even lie - I'd be all over the interwebs looking for it. :P

But yeah, when it comes to the porn industry you and I are likely on the same page. ;)

[Behind the Aegis]

15. "I'd be all over the interwebs looking for it."

Well, we know if it had been true, it is likely neither of us would have returned to the thread so quickly! LOL!

I will also agree we are likely on the same page in regards to the porn industry. I can understand your reaction, especially given the Gannon situation, I guess I was a bit quick too because I see some very, IMHO, sex-negative posts. I am fully up to debating pros and cons of porn, the porn industry, and sex workers, but some attitudes here are more judgmental in a negative, sometimes hateful, way of those involved in those areas. It is why I asked.

Thanks again for the info, it wasn't something I knew.

[Stinky The Clown]

17. You forgot to list his stints at Entertainment Tonight and The Insider

But that's okay.

He is trying to be a serious journalist, as if that's even possible these days.

[LawnLover]

18. You all are WAAAAAAAY too serious

The OP made a bad joke and has apologized.

Give him/her a break.