Former BET anchor Ed Gordon joins "60 Minutes Wednesday" as contributor

NEW YORK (AP) _ Former BET anchorman Ed Gordon has joined CBS' ``60 Minutes Wednesday'' as a contributor and debuts this week with a profile of Jamie Foxx, who's hot following his starring

Monday, November 8th 2004, 2:44 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Former BET anchorman Ed Gordon has joined CBS' ``60 Minutes Wednesday'' as a contributor and debuts this week with a profile of Jamie Foxx, who's hot following his starring roles in ``Ray'' and ``Collateral.''

Foxx talks about being adopted by his grandparents in Texas, and the pain he felt at being largely ignored by his biological parents.

With the exception of CNN's Christiane Amanpour, the ``60 Minutes'' broadcasts rarely take stories from outsiders.

``Very few journalists get invited to this party,'' Gordon said. ``So it's very nice to be invited.''

Gordon, 44, anchored a nightly BET newscast before that network cut back on news. He's best known for his interviews, including newsmaking talks with O.J. Simpson, Janet Jackson, Trent Lott and R. Kelly.

``He's young and smart and he's demonstrated that he has a lot to contribute,'' said ``60 Minutes Wednesday'' executive producer Josh Howard.

The CBS newscast is struggling in the ratings this fall, hurt by being in the same time slot as ABC's hit ``Lost'' and Fox's postseason baseball.

Gordon said he won't be typecast by stories he does, explaining: ``I won't solely pitch African-American issues, but I think it's important that I do.''