National lesbian, gay and trans radio listeners now have an all-gay, on-air option on commercial radio for coverage of news and entertainment about the GLBT community. Whether one listens in the car, on the el or at the gym, one will hear NPR-style leads, up-to-the minute GLBT news from gay voices and the spin of pop music and culture.
Unlike This Way Out, the non-commercial gay newsmagazine on many National Public Radio and public stations, Life Outside is a commercial show. It is the brainchild of Christopher DeChant, executive producer and one of the three hosts of Life Outside. DeChant is a Chicagoan and creator of Aware Talk Radio, the 11-year-old, syndicated radio program providing sexual health, HIV/AIDS and personal well-being information to the public.
Airing in the same 40 markets and on 70 radio stations across the country as Aware, Life Outside has quickly swept in 1.5 million listeners from the lesbian, gay, bi, trans community, as well as friends of the community. Since the summer of 2001, the Life Outside staff has examined queer issues such as adoption, parenting, marriage, the battle for civil rights, the new face of HIV/AIDS and queer television and cinema.
"We want our show to be from us about us," said DeChant. "It's Us talking about Us, the way we are."
The show's producers emphasize that this newsmagazine is a news and entertainment addition to Aware's in-depth health coverage. It's different from shows on public radio such as This Way Out because it has the potential to reach a wider audience as a syndicated show airing on commercial stations.
"Life Outside really focuses more on domestic programming that impacts our lives right now. Listeners in cities and rural areas alike will hear news and entertainment in each show that is of specific relevance to their families," said Faren D'Abell, senior producer and a host on the Life Outside as well as Aware. D'Abell was one of few journalists to cover the world's first gay marriage in Amsterdam. He built his career interviewing thousands of guests for LesBiGay Radio and Windy City Times. He has lined up an impressive list of guests for the new show. Kate Clinton; Margaret Cho; Martin Delaney, AIDS activist/founder of Project Inform; Mark Lieber, Senior Vice President of Programming, PrideVision; Jerrold Nadler, U.S. Congressman; and David Nimmons, author of Soul Beneath Skin are just some of the guests.
The show's family includes hosts DeChant and D'Abell as well as Amy Matheny, host of Life Outside and Aware. Matheny is co-host of Life Outside's sister show on WCKG, Windy City Radio ( owned by Windy City Times ) , and she served three years as co-host with D'Abell of LesBiGay Radio. Lanny Oswalt, associate producer for Aware, is editor and associate producer.
And Life Outside features such contributing writers as Mary Morten, Hope Daniels and Gregg Shapiro. The show's office staff is gay and transgendered. And often the production assistants come up with story ideas from their everyday life. Corporate sponsors for the show include The Walgreen Co., Metropolitan Life Insurance, Pfizer, Merck & Co. and Excedrin for Migraine.
In conjunction with Windy City Radio, Life Outside has teamed up with American Airlines and Cormorant Beach Club of St. Croix to give away prizes like a complete trip for two to the Virgin Islands as part of the Turn Your Ear Queer contest. To enter, listeners can log onto www.lifeoutside.org/events to receive e-mail updates on when to listen to the broadcast.
According to a Syracuse University/ OpusComm Group/Gsociety study, "Gay and lesbian respondents enjoy the same kinds of entertainment/news publications as the general public, but they also demand gay-oriented magazines, TV shows and Web sites."
Life Outside and Aware welcome story queries and leads from the general public. Ideas should be sent to e-mail media@lifeoutside.org or send ideas to media@awaretalkradio.org .
Their offices are at 180 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The show's Web site is www.lifeoutside.org . Life Outside airs on WCKG 105.9, 10 p.m. Sundays--Windy City Radio follows; Q101 12 a.m. Sundays; WCRX 88.1, 7:30 a.m. Saturdays; and WLUW 88.7, 9 a.m., Tuesdays.
