In 1998, ABC briefly appointed little-known Kevin Newman to succeed Charles Gibson as a co-host of Good Morning America, which lasted about seven months, when Gibson was returned to the show after ratings went into free-fall. On Monday’s GMA, Newman starred in a story promoting his new memoir with his gay son Alex, called All Out: A Father and Son Confront the Hard Truths That Made Them Better Men.
ABC reporter Juju Chang noted that the son wrote of “feeling suicidal” despite a “tremendous amount of tolerance” from his parents when he came out as gay. Alex said he had some pieces of evidence that his father “disapproved of the lifestyle,” but then an “evolution” took place:
KEVIN NEWMAN: For me, it was realizing over time that I was homophobic, and that I could always accept my son, but I didn’t always accept his friends, didn’t always accept his social settings. And that, to me -- as a liberal-minded, intellectual, semi-smart man – was disturbing and disappointing.
The last 50 seconds of the story was undergirded by syrupy keyboard music to promote the anchorman’s “evolution,” a happy ending of understanding and acceptance:
CHANG: It took reporting on another family’s gay son for a Canadian documentary for Newman to understand his own son – an evolution perfectly captured by this snapshot with Alex’s boyfriend at the Toronto Gay Pride parade.
ALEX NEWMAN: That moment meant everything. That meant ten years of wondering was over.
KEVIN NEWMAN: I have this dream that there is a father out there that is frightened by their child’s sexuality. They want to love their child, they’re confused, they’re uncertain, they’re insecure. I hope that this book, in that man’s hands, allows him to feel safe to open up a conversation with their child.
In a 2013 article for his current network CTV, Newman equated “homophobia” with racism and how Walter Cronkite refused to give racism any air time on TV (just as ABC now screens out opposing views on LGBT matters, and any mention of a religious inspiration for the conservative view):
As I was working on that story for [his program] W5, I was also reading Douglas Brinkley’s remarkable biography of Walter Cronkite. I was surprised and relieved to learn how Cronkite had driven CBS reporters to cross a similar line in their reporting during the civil rights movement in the U.S. The systemic racism toward African-Americans, he believed, compelled journalists to put aside their notions of neutrality and play a role in shaping American’s acceptance of equal rights.
To Cronkite, there was no "other side" that needed equal time in CBS reporting of segregation; there was only one position that was humane and moral. That’s how I feel about what I consider the civil rights issue of my time: legal and societal equality for gays and lesbians. I cannot see a valid or moral argument for limiting them. I will not accept that my son has fewer rights, must hide who he is, or be afraid to celebrate true love in front of us.
Cronkite’s example helped ease my reluctance to reveal my bias, and as long as I’m being transparent about it, I feel comfortable sharing with W5 viewers and you this aspect of my life I never have discussed before.
