On the (Gay) Radio
For the longest time, radio has been dominated by conservative talk radio, drive-time shock jocks, pop music oldies, NPR, and sports programming-where, you may wonder, is the gay and lesbian presence in the medium?
Even NPR-considered the most inclusive of radio networks-lacks a significant ongoing gay and lesbian presence. (Monologues by David Sedaris don’t quite cut it.) What there is has been limited to localized, magazine-like programs such as One in Ten, Boston’s popular Sunday night broadcast heard on WFNX-FM. Radio, it seems, was locked in the past, slow to embrace the social trends that other mediums, specifically television and movies (and, to a lesser extent) music, have embraced. Where was the gay Rush Limbaugh? (Okay, that’s a scary thought; but you get the point.)
That may be why a recent announcement by Clear Channel that they are producing a new radio show aimed specifically at gays and lesbians seemed more than business as usual. The media giant, with considerable holdings in terrestrial radio, satellite, and television has created, and is producing and marketing America’s first nationally syndicated radio talk show targeted to the LGBT community - PRIDE Radio with Ryan & Caroline.
"We are committed to developing new talent," explained Jared Cohen, Coordinator for Clear Channel Content Research and Development. "Ryan and Caroline are radio’s Will & Grace and Pride reflects their unique sensibility, celebrating pop culture and all things entertainment."
The show-described in its press release as an innovative talk radio show focusing on celebrity interviews, music, gossip, travel, entertainment and lifestyle trends-may not seem like revolutionary programming, but it indicates one of numerous developments in radio aimed at the gay and lesbian audiences.
Other examples are springing up coast-to-coast: In San Francisco KNGY’s Fernando Ventura and Greg Sherrell host what the first openly gay commercial radio morning show hosts in the country. From Sirius Radio there’s OutQ, which offers 24-hour programming with such personalities as Michelangelo Signorile, Frank DeCaro, and Keith Price; and in addition to putting Ryan and Caroline in FM markets throughout the country, Clear Channel also has initiated HD-2 channels in a dozen markets such as Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Miami and West Palm Beach under the name of Pride Radio, a mix of music (mostly latest dance) and feature-type broadcasts (once it premieres, Ryan & Caroline will have a slot.) Currently on a dozen HD stations, it also can be found on websites of nearly two dozens Clear Channel stations. What’s unique about the stream is that is all music-no ads (at present) and no djs.
Also being syndicated on stations nationwide is Radio With a Twist, which (up to now) can boast the largest reach of any gay-oriented show in the country. In Boston’s One in Ten has been airing on Sunday nights for 15 years; and talk radio, courtesy of Air America, isn’t just the old boys network anymore, with two out radio personalities hosting shows-Rachel Maddow and Laura Flanders.
What is obviously driving this programming is that these media giants see gay green, and are making a play for it. Gay Radio is fast becoming a new niche market. "’This has the potential to be as big as Latino or urban radio," Jared Cohen, the creator of Pride Radio, told the Washington Post.
"Sure, if it’s entertaining, well-produced and not self-indulgent," Radio consultant Walter Sabo is CEO of New York-based Sabo Media told Ken R. Deutsch on the website for the magazine Radio World. "There are many gay-targeted businesses that make a fortune, so the ad money is there, no problem."
"You know when Clear Channel does something that you know they didn’t do it on a whim," explained Keith Orr, the executive producer and one of the co-hosts (with Sue O’Connell) of One in Ten. "That they’ve investigated it. That they’ve spent a large amount of time market-researching it, and there’s someone championing the project to bring it up to this level. If they’re going to make this type of commitment, especially in a climate like this one where conservatives are on the attack, means that they’re willing to weather some kind of storm. Because they’re going to be some kind of a storm-even if it’s minimal-because there is always some kind of reaction from the Right."
Rachel Maddow, the out host of Air America’s The Rachel Maddow Show, concurs. "I think that niche marketing to a gay audience, particularly broadcast media, makes sense at this point. I think they’re a little late to this game, but if they want to put some marketing muscle behind it and really support it, I think it could be a big money maker for them. It’s late, but they’re smart to do it."
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