From: Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 15:20:10 -0500 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Greg Gordon (213) 874-0874 "THIS WAY OUT" INTERNATIONAL GAY/LESBIAN RADIO IN DANGER OF SHUTTING DOWN DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS LOS ANGELES -- March 20, 1995 -- THIS WAY OUT, the world's only internationally syndicated weekly lesbian and gay radio program, is dangerously close to leaving the airwaves due to lack of funds, Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon announced today. "I called a meeting of our volunteers over the weekend and laid it out for them," Gordon said. "We need to raise $3,000 by April 21st just to cover our May operating expenses; otherwise our April 24th program could be our last." He characterized the show's annual budget as "a drop in the bucket, given the community's well-publicized economic clout." Gordon explained that while THIS WAY OUT is produced by volunteers, there are still costs involved with putting the show on the air, such as recording tape and other supplies, satellite distribution fees and telephone charges. "It's also becoming harder to get unpaid labor from freelance producers in an era of public broadcasting cutbacks," he said. "It would be tragic if we have to shut down," Gordon continued. "For many people THIS WAY OUT is their only source of news about the community. We know from our mail that many of our listeners live in small towns where there might not be a flourishing gay and lesbian community or a local publication. Our show is even more important for them than it is for listeners in large metropolitan cities." Gordon says the financial crisis is due in part to the program's failure to attract major grant funding. "Several smaller foundations have kept THIS WAY OUT one step ahead of The Grim Reaper for seven years. There are only a limited number of those progressive foundations willing to fund a lesbian and gay radio show, and none of them can offer lifetime support," said Gordon. "We thought the program could become self-sustaining through larger grants and community contributions, but so far that has not happened." He explained that "due to various legal complications, we can't accept paid advertising, and we can't ask for money on the air. Major foundations haven't picked up on the show's value, and the big national gay and lesbian organizations have offered enthusiastic moral support, but apparently don't provide financial help for independent endeavors such as ours." THIS WAY OUT has been on the air since April 1988, is currently heard on more than 85 stations in seven countries, and also airs on a global shortwave station based in Costa Rica. The program has received numerous awards from the National Federation of Community Broadcasters, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Parents & Friends Of Lesbians & Gays (P-FLAG), and the Gay and Lesbian Press Association. Each edition of the half-hour program, presented in a fast-paced, highly produced "radio magazine" format, includes NewsWrap, a summary of major news events in or affecting the lesbian/gay community. The show's diverse feature programming has ranged from extensive coverage of last year's "Stonewall 25" and Gay Games events in New York City to excerpts from Parliamentary debate in New Zealand on a lesbian/gay rights bill, an interview with top officials at a gay radio station in France, and reports by correspondents in Australia, Sweden, Canada, and Great Britain. Each program also offers a wide variety of music, especially recordings by openly lesbian/gay performers, which rarely receive commercial radio airplay. For more information, or to make a tax-deductible donation, please write to THIS WAY OUT, P.O. Box 38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038; request more specific information via email to tworadio@aol.com; or call Greg Gordon at (213) 874-0874. # # # NOTE TO EDITORS: Photo available upon request.