OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
OCTOBER It 2009
PERSONALITIES
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It's Sunny Skies for O p e n ly G a y M e te o ro lo g is t Tim J o y c e
B y RYAN J. P R A D O
The life of a television weatherperson
would seem to be an endless volley between .
cloud formation diagnostics, storm front as
sessments, the daily pursuit of the perfect
coif, and advanced arthritis from involuntary
finger-crossing that those forecasts pan out.
The life of a television news reporter pings and
pongs, to and fro, from fingers-on-the-pulse
journalism to pinpoint accuracy and a killer
smile. Put these visuals together, plus a whole
lot of smarts, and you’ve got yourself a Tim
Joyce.
And not just a Tim Joyce — the Tim Joyce,
KOIN 6’s luminous, openly gay meteorologist
and environmental news reporter. Joyce was
born in Chicago, and attended the University
of Kansas. He’s been a weekend weatherman earned awards from the Kansas Association of
with KOIN 6 in Portland since 2004, and was Broadcasters, the Northwest Chapter of the
a news anchor and covered the weather out of Society of Professional Journalists and the As
Eugene for almost a decade at KVAL-TV and sociated Press.
KMTR-TV in Springfield, where he co-hosted
Joyce’s career, he says, is “a really bizarre
the region’s number one morning show.
medium.” His standing as a go-to guy for daily
“Most people in journalism will bounce planning in terms of the weather has made for
around a lot of places,” explains Joyce over some interesting backlash—complaint emails,
a maple bacon bar and java in the Brooklyn complaint calls, even stalkers. But Joyce takes
District’s True Brew Espresso. “But once I it in stride.
landed a job in Eugene, I was there /or nine
“People think they know you,” Joyce says
years. That says something, either to my insan of being invited into people’s homes via the
ity, or to the fact that I really like this [region] television. “That’s where sexuality comes into
a lot. This is really home to me.”
play. A lot of people have no clue [I’m gay].
Joyce’s path to journalism wasn’t without its Some people say, ‘The first time I saw you, I
share of cloudy days, however. He admits to totally knew.’ ”
Following September’s news that KATU
having first contracted the TV bug before he
really had the desire to be a news reporter, but 2-TV reporter Jeff Jaeger’s contract would
was stymied a bit during his forays into high not be renewed, Joyce finds himself as the
school cable access.
most high-profile—if not the only—openly
“We had a TV studio in our high school, gay television personality in Portland. Joyce’s
and I worked behind the scenes,” says Joyce. passion for playing an integral role in fair and
“I got the bug to do some on-camera stuff, so accurate journalism in the office appears to
I auditioned and my high school teacher ba occupy a larger part of his agenda than does
sically told me I was horrible, that I had no flying a flag of sexual independence. He recalls
talent whatsoever, that I was monotone and I covering the news of anti-gay ballot Measures
should never ever get in front of a camera.”
36 and 9 in recent years.
“[It was a benefit that] at least there was
Flash forward to 2009. Joyce is one of the
most accomplished meteorologists and envi someone on the inside, even as a reporter, where
ronmental reporters in the Northwest. He has [I would say], ‘It’s not about gay rights, it’s
B zi lì
Despite being
told in high
school that he
shouldn t be
in front of a
TV ca m e ra .
Tim Jo y c e
ca n be found
ever/ w e e k
end on KOIN 6
at 6 p m and
II p m You ca n
read his blog.
G eneration
G reen," by
visiting the
KOIN b Web
site at www
koinlocalfe
com
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about gay equity ,’ explains Joyce. “Those subtle
language things are lost on a lot of straight
allies that don’t necessarily know the differ
ence. But language is powerful, and on some
of those subtle things, I think it’s important
to have someone who’s of Hispanic descent, or
African-American descent, or someone who’s
differently oriented sexually to be like, ‘Hey
everybody, this is kind of something that’s
important.”’
When Joyce isn’t busy working on “day
seven of a nine-day work week,” his focus is
divided between his board position on Grow
ing Gardens—a nonprofit mentorship pro
gram aimed at teaching low-income families
and individuals how to grow a portion of their
own food, his environmental blog “Generation
Green,” the toils of being a new homeowner
in a very old house, his two dogs Hugo and
Gladys, and the summer addition of four
chickens. In short, Joyce is the kind of person
whose exhaustive tendencies benefit everyone
around him—and, most of the time, everyone
who’ve welcomed his zeal for weather report
ing into their homes.
“I think if I stop to breathe, I probably
would be like, “Oh my God, you’re insane, what
are you doing?” he says. “I think some people
look at me and think I’m crazy; and people
pec
who know me, know that I’m crazy. ,” j k
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