Had the great pleasure of meeting Garrett Glaser in Miami last week and remembered him well from his days as a local LA newscaster then as a reporter on "Entertainment Tonight."

Glaser left his most recent broadcast job at CNBC last year where he had been since 1997 and is now in corporate communications. I cornered him for a chat. Here are some highlights:

On being out in the newsroom:
"I decided I couldn't be healthy and live that way (being closeted) so when I went to work in Detroit in 1979, I was out to everyone in the newsroom. Then I went to work in Miami and I was totally out. I couldn't live in the closet. There are some very big people who are still in the closet."

By 1986, Glaser had hit the big leagues when he was hired by WABC in New York then went to "Entertainment Tonight" in 1989. The show was supportive and even promoted a PBS "In the Life" show Glaser was hosting by stating it was "the first gay and lesbian newsmagazine and our own Garrett Glaser is the host."

In 1993, the LA Times did a big article on Glaser being openly gay after he introduced a segment on the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS fundraiser by saying, "As a gay man who has lost many friends to AIDS..." After that, he says he got plenty of hate calls.

On whether a newscaster should be out:
"I think people who are wondering how out to be, they need to honestly say to themselves: 'Am I good enough that news management would invest in me as a brand if I'm gay?' If you come out, at least up to now, they're not going to can you but you're not going to be a star. Once you are a bigger name, then you have more power."