今日吃瓜

SBS World 今日吃瓜鈥� Anton Enus鈥� most treasured moment in his journalism career was covering the 1994 national elections in his native South Africa 鈥� the first democratic elections since the end of Apartheid where all South Africans were allowed to vote, regardless of their race.

聽鈥淚t was something we never dreamed would happen, certainly not in our lifetime, and then it happened in a wonderful way with the rise of (Nelson) Mandela to lead that process,鈥� he remembers.

鈥淚t was just a magical moment.鈥�

The end of Apartheid not only brought racial equality but also the creation of a new Bill of Rights in the South African constitution, which in a world-first made it unlawful to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation.

Despite the country鈥檚 progressive legal protection of gay and lesbian people, Enus, by then an emerging TV newsreader, was not out publicly. But all that was about to change thanks to a fellow journalist.

鈥淎t that point it was a whole new thing that legally, (being gay) was all above board but socially there was still years and years to come, to adjust to this reality that we鈥檙e out in the open,鈥� Enus explains.

鈥淚t was interesting in my case, I was outed. It wasn鈥檛 really my choice to certainly make that kind of statement, because I was in the media, I was a news presenter. It was still a fairly sensitive time… it was the mid-90s.

鈥淚 had a bit of a profile, I was trying to build a career and suddenly a reporter for a Sunday newspaper phoned me and said: 鈥榃e鈥檙e doing a story about you, which will reveal that you are a homosexual, would you like to comment or not鈥�.鈥�

Enus was caught in a dilemma. Not knowing how the public would react to his sexuality, he felt he had to give an interview to ensure he could tell his side of the story.

鈥淪o that was it. It was a Sunday newspaper that said I was gay,鈥� he says.

鈥淥ddly enough there was not the slightest controversy about it. People were going: 鈥楽o what?鈥� It was no big deal.鈥�

In 1999, Enus and his current partner decided to move to Sydney for a couple of years on a 鈥渂ig adventure鈥�. Within a week of arriving he landed a freelance gig in the SBS newsroom.

鈥淥n my very first day, they said to me would you like to audition for this news presenter job,鈥� he recalls.

鈥淚t was one of those amazing coincidences of timing, that I arrived at the exact time they needed someone to fill in for their regular news presenter聽who was going to take long service leave.鈥�

The rest of course is history and Enus has been a popular stalwart of SBS鈥� news programming for most of this century.

However, in a remarkable case of deja vu, he went through a second public outing 鈥� this time from聽a journalist at the magazine TV Week.

鈥淚 got called up by a reporter from TV Week magazine聽in the early 2000s and he said: 鈥業 would like to do a little feature on you鈥�. And because I was fairly new to the job, I said yes, absolutely,鈥� he explains.

鈥淭he reporter 鈥� that i鈥檓 still quite friendly with 鈥� bless his cotton socks, had done his homework. He said: 鈥榊ou know I came across this Anton Enus, who in the gay games won a silver medal playing squash, was that you?鈥�

鈥淗e had obviously done a bit of research, because that was me.鈥�

Comparing the two surprise public 鈥渙utings鈥�, Enus says he was more concerned about the consequences in South Africa.

鈥淚n South Africa I was a lot more trepidatious, I really thought that might be the end of my presenting career,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 thought if there was a backlash against that, if the public felt they couldn鈥檛 put up with that, that would鈥檝e been the end of me. As it turns out there was no聽negative reaction at all.

鈥淗ere… it just came out of the blue. It was really completely unpredictable, and once again it was like: 鈥楽o what, what鈥檚 the big deal?鈥欌��

Enus believes Australia鈥檚 media industry is accepting of LGBTI people in the workplace and SBS has always had good workplace inclusion policies.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic. To say on a public platform 鈥業鈥檓 gay鈥�, is completely unremarkable,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone鈥檚 concerned about it in anyway. And you don鈥檛 get pegged to within a certain type of media or certain type of job.

鈥淎nything goes for anyone now.鈥�

Outside of the newsroom, Enus is preparing to invite a new family member into his home with his partner of 27 years when they adopt a rescue puppy in June.

鈥淲e鈥檙e counting down the days,鈥� he says. Enus also explains the secret to a long relationship. 鈥淚t sounds like a cliche to say, but I feel loved everyday,鈥� he says.

鈥淓veryday he says something or does something that聽makes me feel loved. I never ever doubt that and I never feel like we鈥檙e drifting along.鈥�