The first national radio station aimed at gays and lesbians began broadcasting April 14.
OutQ is part of a satellite broadcast operation available to those with a special receiver who pay a monthly fee. It also is available as streaming audio over the Internet. It is one of a hundred 'streams' or channels provided by the company Sirius.
OutQ 'is the first around-the-clock news, talk and music' programming for the LGBT community, said Larry Rebich during an April 15 telephone news conference. The company felt that the community was 'largely underserved' by current options and aims to fill that niche with 'the most diverse content possible.'
The operation is based in New York City.
The format is primarily that of talk radio, with live programming about 15 hours a day beginning at 6 a.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday and rebroadcasts at night and on weekends. Among the hosts are columnist and author Michelangelo Signorile, and Wayne Besen, former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign.
'Our stories have been missing [from the air waves] until today,' Joan Garry said at the news conference. She is the executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
She called OutQ 'an opportunity to demonstrate just how diverse the community is.' We are 'a microcosm of the larger society, with a twist.'
'They really are very funny, those heterosexuals,' said another news conference participant, author and actor Harvey Fierstein. He was referring to current broadcast programs. 'But there is no place to turn on our community. We have no town square.'
He said The New York Times is written as if everyone reading it 'is a white male heterosexual.' He would like to see greater coverage of things such as the fight for marriage and adoption rights in Connecticut, where he now lives.
Fierstein called OutQ a huge opportunity to create that forum among what is estimated to be an LGBT community of some 15 million, 'But I don't know this will happen.' One of the strengths of radio is that it preserves privacy of those who would not or could not buy a magazine or newspaper to learn more of the community.
One drawback to making this all come true is the limited availability of Sirius' programs. While some new cars come equipped with a receiver for satellite radio, retrofitting an older car or purchasing a stand along receiver for your home can cost about $200.
Furthermore, the monthly fee, similar to that for cable TV, is $12.95. That does bring access to a hundred different channels of music and talk with digital sound clarity, many of which are commercial-free.
Rival XM Satellite radio, based in Washington, D.C., got out of the gate earlier and already has a subscriber base of half a million, compared to 30,000 for Sirius. Many analysts believe there is room for only on satellite broadcast operation in the market.
Rebich said their market analysis points to OutQ selling 'a sizeable number of radios ... in the tens of thousands,' though he declined to be more specific.
Additional hosts include:
— Natalie Davis: A 20-year veteran in broadcast and print journalism with mainstream, alternative, and GLBT press.
— Cary Harrison: He brings a loyal audience to OutQ as a result of his weekly magazine-style talk radio show On the Edge, broadcast in Los Angeles. Harrison will offer listeners financial segments from GFN.com, including twice-a-week 'From the Floor' market analysis from founder Walter Schubert
— Angelique Perrin: A nationally syndicated radio personality who has also worked at Black Entertainment Television Network and Hard Copy.
— Derek Hartley: A columnist for PlanetOut.com .
— Romaine Patterson: A leading gay-rights speaker and activist who founded Angel Action, an organization for peaceful demonstration, after her close friend, Matthew Shepard, died as a result of an anti-gay hate crime in Laramie, Wyo.
— Corey Johnson: The first openly gay high school football team captain in America.
— Tim Curran: With 20 years of broadcast journalism experience including work with MTV's Real World and Road Rules, Bravo, The History Channel, and GAYBC Radio.