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Anderson Cooper ’89: A TV journalist comes out; nation yawns.

By the staff | 2:09pm July 05 2012

When Anderson Cooper ’89 came out as gay this week, the news caused slightly more stir than “dog bites man.” That ho-hum reaction is, apparently, itself news.

“The TV nation seemed to shrug,” said the New York Times, in reporting on the revelation by the host of both Anderson Cooper 360 and the daytime talk show Anderson. Declared a Huffington Post blogger: “Anderson Cooper Is Gay. So What!”

Calling Cooper “the biggest star on CNN for the better part of a decade,” the Times—and other media coverage—focused on whether gay celebrities have an obligation to acknowledge their orientation publicly. Cooper himself touched on that question in his coming-out statement, an e-mail to friend/blogger/gay activist Andrew Sullivan. After explaining his personal and professional desire for privacy, Cooper wrote: “It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something. … I do think there is value in standing up and being counted.”

Now, the Yale Alumni Magazine can reveal the truly groundbreaking aspect of this story: Cooper is the first person to repeat as our Yalie of the Week.

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