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A gay TV journalist in Little Rock, Ark., has posted a snappy comeback to a viewer who wrote that "society is not ready for gay men reading news," and he's getting support from management and national media personalities.
The viewer contacted Mitchell McCoy of KARK via email, and McCoy posted the email on Twitter Monday, without the writer's name, and responded to it:
\u201cI get many emails but this tops it. I've dreamt of being a reporter since I was 9 and I won't stop on your behalf.\u201d— Mitchell McCoy (@Mitchell McCoy) 1464025435
\u201c...is the minute you stop being who you are. It's not worth it. #DreamOn #StepUpStopBullying\u201d— Mitchell McCoy (@Mitchell McCoy) 1464025435
Mitchell's boss, KARK news director Austin Kellerman, stood up for him. "As public figures, our journalists often receive messages from viewers -- some good, some bad," Kellerman said in an email to Little Rock's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "It's part of our profession. Mitch is a great journalist, and we're happy to have him on our team." Mitchell has been with KARK since last fall, after stints with TV stations in Missouri and Michigan.
McCoy received many positive comments on Twitter, including one that noted the viewer must not have heard of out TV reporters such as gay men Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, and Thomas Roberts, or lesbian Robin Roberts. And McCoy also received support directly from CNN's Lemon:
\u201c@MitchellMcCoy keep on keeping on. Don't let anyone get you down. There will always be haters. Make them your motivators. \ud83d\udc4a\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Mitchell McCoy (@Mitchell McCoy) 1464025435
