[BC] [Fwd: Clear Channel Radio Launches GLBT Radio Station]

[Rich Wood]

------ At 08:03 AM 3/4/2007, Douglas B. Pritchett wrote: -------

>I think it's a wonderful move. As for shelf life, any station 
>wanting to survive and prosper, they must cultivate a lasting 
>relationship with their audience. That's more than just playing 
>relatable music. News, public affairs, community involvement must 
>happen. This could be a successful format niche in many markets. 
>Pardon my ignorance, is there anything like this on satellite radio?

SIRIUS has a channel called OutCue. For a format to be successful 
there has to be some common connection. As I said, the basic 
connection is who you share your life with. That very commonality is 
the thing that'll get us fined out of existence. Gay people are 
everywhere doing everything everyone else is doing. What relatable 
music? Dance? Opera? By dance I don't mean ballet.

A number of times I've tried to develop gay programming for my 
networks and stations. It was impossible to get the people I 
consulted to agree on what made the community a community. 
Unfortunately, it focused on gay bashing, discrimination and, more 
recently, gay marriage. At WOR we had a weekly show dealing with 
AIDS. Since AIDS isn't a gay disease it dealt with a much wider 
audience. New York City can support such a show because it goes well 
beyond the gay community. The commonality was HIV/AIDS, not the gay community.

It's really a non-issue, since it's on HD-2. It'll die a very quiet 
death well before enough receivers find their way to market. This is 
nothing new. There have been gay shows on radio for years. Gotta be 
careful about what you talk about. Wouldn't want to frighten the horses.

Rich


Rich Wood
Rich Wood Multimedia
Phone: 413-454-3258