Stephen James Kmetko (born February 16, 1953) is an American
broadcast
Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...
and
entertainment journalist
Entertainment journalism is any form of journalism that focuses on popular culture and the entertainment business and its products. Like fashion journalism, entertainment journalism covers industry-specific news while targeting general audiences be ...
. 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
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
,
[ the last of Rev. Andrew and Alice Gladys (née Newman) Kmetko's five children. Kmetko graduated from William Howard Taft High School in Chicago, Illinois, in 1970.]Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...
.
Broadcast career
News reporter
Kmetko created his broadcast reporting career. "My first job was in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. I was visiting some friends there on vacation." After watching the local news team, Kmetko says 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.[
Moving on, Kmetko became a weekend anchor and general-assignment reporter for ]NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
affiliates WAVE-TV
WAVE (channel 3) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Media. The station's studios are located on South Floyd Street in downtown Louisville, and its transmitter is located in ...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, and WOTV (now WOOD-TV
WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed dual American Broadcasting Compan ...
) in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
.
Entertainment reporter
In 1982, Kmetko was hired as a general-assignment reporter by CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
-owned-and-operated station KNXT (now KCBS-TV
KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...
) 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
King World Productions, Inc. (also known as King World Entertainment, King World Enterprises, or simply King World) was a production company and syndicator of television programming in the United States founded by Charles King (1912–72) that ...
.[ Kmetko also covered entertainment for '']CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...
'' 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.[ 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
Q Television Network was a shortlived American cable television channel which aired programming targeted to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual audiences.David Bauder"Three new television networks seeks (sic) out gay and lesbian audiences" '' The Da ...
World News. In May 2007, Kmetko was hired as a general-assignment reporter for ''Fox 11 News'' on Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
-owned-and-operated station KTTV
KTTV (channel 11) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network. It is owned a ...
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
An advocate is a professional in the field of law.
The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to:
Magazines
* The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States
* ''The Harvard 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 Advocates 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'' (2001), ''Zoolander'' (2001), and ''Dave'' (1993).
Awards
* 1988 Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Entertainment Reporting[
]
References
External links
*
Facebook page (official)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kmetko, Steve
1953 births
American infotainers
American LGBTQ broadcasters
American LGBTQ journalists
American male journalists
American reporters and correspondents
American television journalists
Columbia College Chicago alumni
Living people
Writers from Cleveland
Journalists from Cleveland