By RODNEY HO/ rho@ajc.com, originally filed Wednesday, June 15, 2016

The need for celebrities or media figures to officially "come out" is no longer a thing.

It's often just mentioned in passing and people shrug their shoulders and move on.

But the Orlando mass shooting at a gay nightclub has brought out the homophobes and compelled 11 Alive reporter Jeremy Campbell to pen an essay, "You Know I'm Gay, Right?" (Read it here.)

He was stunned by how nasty people could be about gay people after a tragedy like this.

So he had this to say: "Words matter. Everything you say. Everything you post or comment - it all matters.  Someone sees every thought.  And what you say makes the difference between love and hate."

In what appears to be unrelated news, Campbell also will be off the air on 11 Alive for awhile. Why? He's going to work on a big investigative piece for parent company Tegna as part of a new digital investigative unit called "Attticus," named after the character in "To Kill a Mockingbird." He won't say yet what the topic is.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Jessica Chastain attends the Kering Caring for Women Dinner in New York on Sept. 11, 2025. Later this month, you might see her around Atlanta. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Featured

Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com