Richard Quest, the eccentric presenter of Quest means Business on CNN International (DStv 401) came out as gay on his own weekday show on Friday night saying "Would the fact that I'm gay affect my credibility as a business journalist? Would you watch the programme differently?"
Richard Quest said he wish that he had done it on Thursday night - a day before - when he interviewed John Browne, the former CEO of the British oil giant, BP. John Browne resigned in 2007 after a British tabloid revealed that he was gay.
John Browne wrote the book The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good for Business, and Richard Quest interviewed him about it on Thursday.
In his "Profitable Moment" segment which Richard Quest uses to close out every show, he came out as gay on Friday night on CNN International, saying that it is good for his business as a financial journalist.
Instead, he did it on Friday evening a day later, and told viewers globally that it is good for his business as a business journalist.
"If I remember back to when I wasn't open about my sexuality, I spent a great deal of time worried about it. About what my family would think, what would my friends, my colleagues would think, and of course, what would you think".
"Would the fact that I'm gay affect my credibility as a business journalist? Would you watch the program differently?"
"Thinking like this saps energy, it drains confidence, it takes a toll on productivity, it's exhausting.
"I realize that everyone has their own road to travel in making this decision about when it's right to come out. "I know that in my case, the worst fears never materialized. All in all professionally, I know the work I do here every day is better because I'm honest about who I am".
