But maybe not in retrospect. The book was released in late 2001. Long before the likes of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, NPR’s Ari Shapiro, the Washington Posts’s Johnathan Capeheart---and maybe even CNN’s Anderson Cooper---became the standard bearers for today’s gay professional and fixtures on television news programs. 

 

At the time, Weider said of Kmetko: “As I write this introduction, there are still no out television anchormen other than E! Entertainment’s Steve Kmetko. No wonder he was a nervous wreck while making the decision to do his Advocate cover story interview. It took him years. And for better or worse, we can remember most of the courtship. Sure, Steve was dropping the usual hints that a gay celebrity often leaves around as he works himself up to the big moment (showing up in gay clubs, ambivalent appearances in gay or gay-friendly publications, etc.), but it took a cataclysmic event to finally make it happen. It took the brave, open life of someone Steve had never met. In fact, it took much more than his life, it took his death. It took the senseless death of gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard to make Steve Kmetko call it quits and finally out himself with style, honesty and courage.”

 

Today, Steve lives in Chicago. He’s been sober more than 3 years. He worked in television news for more than 30 years for, among others, CBS News, E! Entertainment Television, and he even freelanced for FOX news in Los Angeles. He’s still gay. He’s still single. And he’s podcasting for MyQmunity.