Anderson Cooper prefers to address questions about his sexuality with on-camera winks, nudges and the like. There's a reason the CNN anchor is not asked for more direct answers in formal interviews.

It's no surprise Cooper would demur on questions about who he is or is not dating, and what their gender might be. After all, if that were the sort of thing the AC360 host talked about, the world would know by now.

But it is interesting to learn that journalists are routinely and formally held to promises about their questions as a condition for interviewing Cooper. Gawker alum Choire Sicha, who recently sat down with Cooper for the Los Angeles Times, described the screening process in an aside on his personal blog:

Access to Mr. Cooper through the network is dependent on their conditions that no personal questions be asked, whatever that means, and so I agree to their conditions, as stupid as they may be.

One wonders how often Cooper himself makes promises to sources about what kinds of questions he'll ask them on camera