Don Lemon

Wow. That's an awesome question. A lil vodka, some lemonade, a splash of sparkling water for bubbles and I'd stir it with one of my fingers. Aaahhh refreshing!

I was totally stunned by the Jon Stewart segment. I was watching the show with a friend and was tweeting about the prior segments. Then mine came on and we both said in unison, "uh oh." Then I tweet 'OMG' and walked out of the room.. My friend said come back, watch it. I didn't for about an hour and after I had 2 beers. Then once I watched I thought it was funny and complimentary. I just didn't want to make my co-workers look like the brunt of the joke. But they understood and sent me nice emails. the truth is I love real news and my team knows it. We pride ourselves on gimmick-free news. In fact we ask ourselves when pitching ideas, 'is this too gimmicky?' And if the answer is yes, we drop it. I think the viewer may watch a gimmick for a while but then they catch on and tune out. It really is ok to be smart and present a smart newscast.

That’s a really good personal question. Know that you're not alone. Come out of the closet when you feel comfortable and safe. But know that it's never an easy thing to do at first. Then when you do it you'll wonder why you hadn't sooner. Here’s the thing, you don't have to relate or like anyone just because they're gay. You should relate to or like them because they're a good person or you have something in common. You don't have to hang out or befriend gay people just because you're gay. I have a bunch of straight friends and some really gay ones too. It’s all good. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It all works itself out. Good luck.

Obviously I prefer CNN. But there are some really great journalists at fox, and you have to admit that their hosts do great TV. No comment on the fair and balanced part.

I would hope that if you are going to say something that you actually believe it. And I’m sure the people who watch believe it too.

yikes. a ton of questions. can't even eat breakfast. answering now. standby. i need waaaayyyy more coffee.

haha.. I had a lot of fun in Birmingham. Still remember the promo: 'Don Lemon, part of Alabama’s 24 hour news team,' ha!!!! To answer your question, it's more than just deeper pockets, it's a bigger venue and bigger thinkers. At CNN I literally get to see the world everyday. As I walk from my car to the newsroom to my office, I come in contact with people from just about every region of the world. My team's pod (as we call it) in the newsroom is not far from the international desk. so, if I need to know what's going on in Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, Mexico, London, Paris, Australia, ANYWHERE, I can just walk over and they know. And guess what, there's someone there who speaks the language. It really is a world on to itself. It would be really tough to go back to local news or even another network after working in the CNN environment. Say hi to everyone atop red mountain in b'ham.

Yikes.. a lot of fun things happen.. I usually start the wave with the tour groups. One woman saw me and started jumping up and down and obviously she wasn't wearing any support up top. And just last week this woman freaked out and started kissing the glass so I went over and kissed back. I love the tour groups.

I’ve known since I was a kid, but I didn't really know what to call it. My mom says I asked A LOT of questions to anyone who would listen. I’d even go over to other people's tables at restaurants. Guess I was 'born this way' or at least born to be a journalist.

I don't want to give you the standard, 'well we always have to remain objective blah, blah, blah." Obviously I try to remain objective. But i'm also a human being. And I think it's important to think and ask questions like a regular person and not a 'journalist'. I don't think i'm a dying breed. But i do have to say i think the bulk of passionate journalists are coming from alternative places today like social media and internet radio etc. They have a freedom of thought and transparency that many of us don't in traditional media. I don't think i need to bring integrity back to CNN. CNN never lost integrity. I just think CNN can be better at reaching people like Redditors. And that's one reason i'm here. i'm 'that guy'.