Steve Kmetko


Stephen James Kmetko is an American broadcast and entertainment journalist. First working as a news anchor and reporter in the US Midwest, Kmetko moved to Los Angeles, California, and embarked on a 30-year career as an entertainment journalist and television news-show host.
Kmetko came out as gay in 1999, becoming one of the first prominent openly gay journalists in America.

Early life and education

Kmetko was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the last of Rev. Andrew and Alice Gladys Kmetko's five children. Kmetko graduated from William Howard Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois, in 1970. Kmetko graduated in 1976 with a degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia College Chicago.

Broadcast career

News reporter

Kmetko's first job was in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. He was watching the local news team while visiting some friends there on vacation. He called the station and insisted he could do a better job. "They sat me down in front of a camera and told me to read." A week later, the station hired him.
Later Kmetko became a weekend anchor and general-assignment reporter for NBC affiliates WAVE-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, and WOTV in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Entertainment reporter

In 1982, Kmetko was hired as a general-assignment reporter by CBS-owned-and-operated station KNXT in Los Angeles, later moving to a four-day-a-week schedule as entertainment reporter for Channel 2 News. Kmetko said he greatly enjoyed entertainment reporting. "Fortunately for me, entertainers do not remain in Los Angeles. They film movies and attend film festivals around the world. I have had the opportunity to travel to some wonderful places." In September 1986, Kmetko was the anchor of The Rock `N Roll Evening News, a "pop music-oriented show" created and written by producer Andy Friendly for King World Productions. Kmetko also covered entertainment for CBS This Morning and hosted the syndicated entertainment program Studio 22.

E! News

In 1994, Kmetko was hired as co-anchor of the entertainment shows E! News Daily and E! News Weekend, in which he covered the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Cannes Film Festival, and other high-profile events. He "interviewed everyone who was anyone in Hollywood". Kmetko also anchored the E! Entertainment Report, which was fed daily to NBC affiliates nationally. In 1997, "E! News Daily" expanded from a half-hour to an hour of entertainment news. E! doubled its production staff in Los Angeles and opened a satellite bureau in New York.

Later career

Kmetko hosted the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's Excellence in Journalism Awards on October 4, 2005, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In 2006, Kmetko was hired as the anchor, producer, and writer of Q Television Network World News. In May 2007, Kmetko was hired as a general-assignment reporter for Fox 11 News on Fox-owned-and-operated station KTTV in Los Angeles. Kmetko has served as producer and reporter of several video segments on California's gay-marriage ruling for theadvocate.com, the website of the gay news magazine The Advocate.

Podcasting

Kmetko currently hosts the podcast Still Here Hollywood.

Personal life

For years, Kmetko avoided discussing his private life in interviews. In 1999, however, he was interviewed by The Advocate's editor-in-chief Judy Wieder. Kmetko discussed his past closeted life and how he had decided to be open about his being gay. His reason:
When asked about the process of "coming out", Kmetko said:

Acting

Kmetko is also an actor, known for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Zoolander, and Dave.

Awards