Thomas Roberts (news anchor)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Roberts is an American journalist
who, since April 2010, has served as a news anchor
for MSNBC
, a cable-news
channel.
, Maryland
, and attended Calvert Hall College High School
, a Catholic high school in nearby Baltimore
. In 1994, Roberts graduated from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College
) with a major in communication and a minor in journalism. He was a member of Delta Pi Alpha fraternity.
, Maryland. He then moved to San Diego, California
, and worked as a writer and field producer for NBC
affiliate KNSD
before relocating to Lincoln
, Nebraska
, where he worked as a general-assignment reporter with ABC affiliate KLKN-TV.
Roberts went on to become a nightly news anchor and investigative reporter
for Fox
affiliate WFTX-TV in Fort Myers
, Florida
, and later for WAVY-TV
, an NBC affiliate in Portsmouth
, Virginia
, which serves the Hampton Roads
area. At WAVY-TV, he co-anchored an afternoon newscast and was also the station's investigative and consumer correspondent.
During his early career, he also was a correspondent for CBS News
and prior to that the syndicated entertainment programs Entertainment Tonight
and The Insider
.
, a cable-news channel, in December 2001 and was based in Atlanta, Georgia
. He was a weekday anchor on CNN Headline News
, one of CNN's sister channels, and provided Prime NewsBreaks. While at CNN Headline News, Roberts co-anchored with Judy Fortin
, Sophia Choi
and Kathleen Kennedy
. He co-anchored the CNN Headline News coverage of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
and the channel's ongoing Iraq War coverage.
He received an Emmy Award
nomination in 2002 for his investigation into a local puppy mill
that was eventually shut down due to his reporting, according to CNN.
Roberts resigned from CNN on May 1, 2007, to settle in the Washington, D.C.
, area and pursue "new journalistic opportunities".
's Early Today
on NBC and First Look on MSNBC.
Roberts has also anchored at the news desk on the weekday and weekend versions of Today for NBC News.
From December 2010 thru February 2011 Roberts anchored the 3 p.m. (Eastern time) hour of MSNBC until he was moved to his current 11 a.m. (Eastern time) hour.
Roberts substituted for Keith Olbermann
as the host of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
on November 5 and 8, 2010, when Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC for making campaign contributions to candidates in the U.S. 2010 elections
.
charges and received a five-year jail sentence with all but eighteen months suspended in February 2006. Toohey served only ten months before his sentence was converted in December with the remaining eight months to be served in home detention
. Roberts discussed his abuse in a special segment on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 called "Sins of the Father" on March 12, 2007.
while speaking at the annual convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
(NLGJA) in Miami, Florida, which was held on September 8, 2006. His comments were first reported by Johnny Diaz
, a Boston Globe
staff reporter. Along with Craig Stevens, a co-anchor of Miami's WSVN
Channel 7, and other local gay anchors, Roberts was a member of a panel called "Off Camera: The Challenge of LGBT TV Anchors." He told the audience that the conference was the "biggest step" he had taken to really be out in public and that he had slowly been coming out at CNN over the past several years. Diaz reported that Roberts, who has been a member of the NLGJA since 2005, said he was proud of his partner and that staying in the closet was a difficult thing for a national news anchor. "When you hold something back, that's all everyone wants to know", Diaz quoted Roberts as saying.
On September 15, 2006, Christie Keith, a reporter with the website AfterElton.com, published an interview with Roberts, who stated that he actually came out to coworkers in 1999, when he was living in Norfolk
, Virginia. "I was happy, I was in a relationship, and I was very proud. I had the support of family, and of my friends. It was … about not wasting any more time. I'd wasted enough time." He further commented, on the subject of coming out, "Hopefully, everyone, gay or straight, journalists or doctors or otherwise, can overcome that obstacle, because it stands in the way of you being the best you can be, with your job, with your family, with everything, and not have to be afraid anymore."
Roberts also told Keith that he had been approached in 2005 by People
magazine to be one of the publication's 50 Sexiest Bachelors, but he declined. "I'm not a bachelor. I thought it would be false advertising... [And] I didn't think it was the right venue to talk about it."
was legalized, Roberts announced his engagement to Abner on his Twitter page.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who, since April 2010, has served as a news anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
for MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, a cable-news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
channel.
Early life and education
Born Thomas Albert Roberts, he grew up in TowsonTowson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and attended Calvert Hall College High School
Calvert Hall College High School
Calvert Hall College High School is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys located in Towson, Maryland, United States...
, a Catholic high school in nearby Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. In 1994, Roberts graduated from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College
McDaniel College
McDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College...
) with a major in communication and a minor in journalism. He was a member of Delta Pi Alpha fraternity.
Early career
After college, his first job was reporting for a small cable station in WestminsterWestminster, Maryland
Westminster is a city in northern Maryland, United States. It is the seat of Carroll County. The city's population was 18,590 at the 2010 census. Westminster is an outlying community within the Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA, which is part of a greater Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV...
, Maryland. He then moved to San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and worked as a writer and field producer for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate KNSD
KNSD
KNSD is the NBC television station based in San Diego, California. It is owned by a joint venture of NBCUniversal and LIN TV . However, because NBCUniversal has majority control, KNSD is run as an NBC owned and operated station...
before relocating to Lincoln
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, where he worked as a general-assignment reporter with ABC affiliate KLKN-TV.
Roberts went on to become a nightly news anchor and investigative reporter
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
for Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliate WFTX-TV in Fort Myers
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and later for WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV
WAVY-TV, channel 10, is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Hampton Roads area . WAVY is owned by LIN Television Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox affiliate WVBT...
, an NBC affiliate in Portsmouth
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, which serves the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
area. At WAVY-TV, he co-anchored an afternoon newscast and was also the station's investigative and consumer correspondent.
During his early career, he also was a correspondent for CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
and prior to that the syndicated entertainment programs Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
and The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
.
CNN
Roberts joined CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, a cable-news channel, in December 2001 and was based in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. He was a weekday anchor on CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
, one of CNN's sister channels, and provided Prime NewsBreaks. While at CNN Headline News, Roberts co-anchored with Judy Fortin
Judy Fortin
Judy Fortin is a representative for NewsCertified Exchange.Fortin was born on October 7, 1961, in Concord, New Hampshire. After graduating from Concord High School, she attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and French in 1983...
, Sophia Choi
Sophia Choi
Sophia Choi is an American news broadcaster at WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia.-Biography:Sophia Choi was born in Taegu, Korea. She moved to the U.S. at the age of seven, and attended Hollywood Elementary School in Hollywood, Maryland. After her father's death when she was 12, she moved to Memphis,...
and Kathleen Kennedy
Kathleen Kennedy (journalist)
Kathleen Kennedy is a former news anchor for CNN Headline News.She joined CNN in 1992. She graduated from Columbus College in Columbus, Georgia with a degree in speech communications. Her last day on the network was February 9, 2007. Following her departure from CNN, she planned to stay home...
. He co-anchored the CNN Headline News coverage of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...
and the channel's ongoing Iraq War coverage.
He received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination in 2002 for his investigation into a local puppy mill
Puppy mill
A puppy mill, sometimes known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding facility that is operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care...
that was eventually shut down due to his reporting, according to CNN.
Roberts resigned from CNN on May 1, 2007, to settle in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, area and pursue "new journalistic opportunities".
MSNBC
In late April 2010, Roberts began freelance anchoring for MSNBC and was named full-time anchor in December. Roberts primarily anchors daytime coverage but also has substituted as weekend anchor and overnight news update anchor on MSNBC as well as NBC NewsNBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
's Early Today
Early Today
Early Today is an American morning news programme airing on the NBC television network. The program goes out live at 4:00am Eastern Time Zone for those few stations which start their local news at 4:30am, and is transmitted in a continuous half-hour tape delay loop until 10:00am ET, when Today...
on NBC and First Look on MSNBC.
Roberts has also anchored at the news desk on the weekday and weekend versions of Today for NBC News.
From December 2010 thru February 2011 Roberts anchored the 3 p.m. (Eastern time) hour of MSNBC until he was moved to his current 11 a.m. (Eastern time) hour.
Roberts substituted for Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
as the host of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
on November 5 and 8, 2010, when Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC for making campaign contributions to candidates in the U.S. 2010 elections
United States elections, 2010
The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 37 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were contested in this election along with 38 state and territorial...
.
Victim of sexual abuse
In 2005, after years of silence, Roberts came forward to testify against Jerome F. Toohey Jr., a former priest who had abused him when he was a student at Calvert Hall College High School. Toohey pled guilty to the sexual-abuseSexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
charges and received a five-year jail sentence with all but eighteen months suspended in February 2006. Toohey served only ten months before his sentence was converted in December with the remaining eight months to be served in home detention
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
. Roberts discussed his abuse in a special segment on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 called "Sins of the Father" on March 12, 2007.
Sexual orientation and coming out
Roberts publicly acknowledged that he is gayHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
while speaking at the annual convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association
The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association is an American professional association dedicated to unbiased coverage of gay/lesbian issues in the media...
(NLGJA) in Miami, Florida, which was held on September 8, 2006. His comments were first reported by Johnny Diaz
Johnny Diaz
Johnny Diaz is an American novelist and a media reporter for the business section of the Boston Globe, where he writes about local television news, radio, print and advertising....
, a Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
staff reporter. Along with Craig Stevens, a co-anchor of Miami's WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...
Channel 7, and other local gay anchors, Roberts was a member of a panel called "Off Camera: The Challenge of LGBT TV Anchors." He told the audience that the conference was the "biggest step" he had taken to really be out in public and that he had slowly been coming out at CNN over the past several years. Diaz reported that Roberts, who has been a member of the NLGJA since 2005, said he was proud of his partner and that staying in the closet was a difficult thing for a national news anchor. "When you hold something back, that's all everyone wants to know", Diaz quoted Roberts as saying.
On September 15, 2006, Christie Keith, a reporter with the website AfterElton.com, published an interview with Roberts, who stated that he actually came out to coworkers in 1999, when he was living in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, Virginia. "I was happy, I was in a relationship, and I was very proud. I had the support of family, and of my friends. It was … about not wasting any more time. I'd wasted enough time." He further commented, on the subject of coming out, "Hopefully, everyone, gay or straight, journalists or doctors or otherwise, can overcome that obstacle, because it stands in the way of you being the best you can be, with your job, with your family, with everything, and not have to be afraid anymore."
Roberts also told Keith that he had been approached in 2005 by People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
magazine to be one of the publication's 50 Sexiest Bachelors, but he declined. "I'm not a bachelor. I thought it would be false advertising... [And] I didn't think it was the right venue to talk about it."
Spouse
He has been in a relationship with his partner, Patrick D. Abner, since 2000. According to an AfterElton.com interview, they celebrated their anniversary on September 30, 2006. On June 25, 2011, one day after same-sex marriage in New YorkSame-sex marriage in New York
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24, 2011, by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day...
was legalized, Roberts announced his engagement to Abner on his Twitter page.
External links
- Staff writerStaff writerStaff writer is a byline that indicates that the author of the article at hand is employed by the periodical that published the article as a regular staff member, and not as a freelance writer or special contributor....
(undated; circa late 2010). "Thomas Roberts: The Exclusive ATLANTAboy 'It Gets Better' Interview". Atlantaboy.com (blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
). Accessed December 8, 2010.