Out Spotlight

Today's Out Spotlight is a fixture in New England news and has been one of the most recognized faces in Boston for the past 27 years. During his career he has been the news anchor for all three major news stations in the Boston area. A throwback to the traditional anchorman he not only delivers the news, he is a newsmaker in his own right, becoming the first openly gay newscaster in the United States. Today's Out Spotlight is Randy Price.

Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Price attended Louisiana State University, where he got his start in broadcasting on college radio. He continued his career while serving in the U.S. Air Force, working for Armed Forces Radio and Television. After completing his commission he went on to work as television news reporter at KERO-TV in Bakersfield, California, then moved up the ladder to a bigger market and a new job in Toledo, Ohio as the anchor of WTVG News.

He then made the move to Boston, one of the top media markets in the country, in 1983 coming to WBZ-TV where he anchored the evening news for 12 years, becoming one of the most familiar faces in Boston. In 1995, he was arrested for driving under the influence, his second offense, and pleading no contest he attended court-mandated counseling and resigned from WBZ. Price called the arrest a professional and personal wake-up call. Having to sit out for a year as part of his non compete clause in his contract, he used that time to focus on his recovery and build his a home in Kittery, Maine, which he shares with his husband.

"The better part of my career has come after that. It was the beginning of my most successful chapter in what I do."

A year later he joined WHDH-TV as a freelance reporter, and then was promoted and back in the anchor chair in 1997. First starting as the morning anchor and then being promoted to anchoring the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. He consistently won the ratings race for the 11 p.m. news. On February 6, 2009, he was let go from WHDH-TV. The following day The Boston Globe quoted him saying that station owner, Ed Ansin, had told him "we need to move in different directions." The word was that Price voiced his complaints about how the station sensationalized the news for flash more than presenting for substance, to management and there was a distinct difference of philosophy. Just four months later on June 2, 2009, Price was named morning anchor at WCVB-TV.

During Price's distinguished career in Boston he has been honored with numerous humanitarian and professional awards, including a national Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast, the broadcast industry’s highest honor.

He is also known for his work on behalf of gay rights and is active member of the Boston and New England LGBT communities. After being the first news anchor to come out in the US, he is a role model for up-and-coming gay broadcast journalists and for members of the Boston gay community. He has been active in Boston's Pride celebrations and has grand marshaled the annual Boston Pride parade several times. He has served as a guest and keynote speaker for many LGBT groups and events all over New England, and has hosted the annual prom for Boston area LGBT teens, sponsored by the Boston Alliance of Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth.

Price met his husband Mark Steffen at a bar while working as a reporter in Bakersfield, Calif., in the late 1970s. As they say opposites attract, for them, both in personality and looks, and they connected right from the start.

"He was on television, but I really didn't watch television," says Steffen, who radiates a mellow Californian surfer vibe, while Price comes off as energetic and animated. "He was dark and intense."

"Mark is more into the big picture. I'm more of Mr. Fix-It," says Price. "He's everything to me. He's so much that I admire -- the honesty, the integrity." (Boston Globe)

In the mid-1980s, Price had been living with Steffen for almost a decade, and had grown tired of reading stories about his personal life that did not mention his longtime partner. Readers could see him at home with his dog, and his other interests, but something was missing. "All these things about my life. And never one — not one mention — of do I live with anybody, what's the story of my personal situation. … They didn't ask any of those questions because they knew the answers." And Price confessed, "I probably didn't push the point." So one day he opened up to a reporter about his relationship and their life together.

"It wasn't a big secret revealed, but I was very interested in talking about it because our business is supposedly about facts and honesty. I had the real fortunate circumstance of having a relationship with viewers, people knowing me for the totality of who I was except for that one element. It's about me as a person. I live with a guy. I have a very long, successful relationship."

Price believes that his open and frank honesty about his sexual orientation has translated to credibility with his viewers.

"It's connecting to people. The more things change, quite possibly, the more people will gravitate to some elements of familiarity. People who watch me know what my sensibilities are. Whether it's the success of Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams, or myself, it's because people have a trust in what you're doing. They just sense what you're about. I'm not an activist. I am proud of who I am.

Price and Steffen were married on January 3, 2007 in a ceremony on the steps of the Massachusetts State House. It took place on Mitt Romney's last day as governor, which made it make national headlines. While some thought the ceremony and date was a media stunt it was in fact their 30th anniversary.

"When we got married," Steffen said, "the cards and letters we got from people we never expected. It was a very moving experience. [Being gay] is not something we discussed that much. It's not something we tried to hide."

More than a decade after Price began answering those questions about who he is, he is amused that some still see those answers as irrelevant. "People ask that question," "Like, 'Well, you know, is it really necessary for you to discuss your sexual life with everybody?' And I go, 'Well, you know, I never really thought I was discussing my sex life. … I said I'm a gay person, I live with another guy, and I have a long-term relationship. If I don't tell you that, then there's really no foundation for us having an exchange about who we all are."

Price and Steffen live in Kittery, Maine, with their award winning American Cocker Spaniels. They are known in the dog show world as Cutt Island Cocker Spaniels, and are proud owners of Champion K-Line N Cutts Beyond-A-Doubt (Rudy) the top-winning Cocker Spaniel in breed history with 35 Bests in Specialty Show. Along with his Best in Specialty Show record, Rudy has also won 7 All-Breed Bests in Show - which is more than any other Brown Cocker in history.

Cutts Island Cocker Spaniels