Gay Cable Network (GCN) was one of the first cable television networks which openly appealed to a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

audience. It was established in 1982 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

by Lou Maletta, was broadcast on Manhattan Cable Television channel 35 and wound down operations in 2000–2001. It initially broadcast a series titled '' Men and Films'', which explored male

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

, and evolved to host a wider variety of content, including news and current affairs programs which covered political developments affecting the

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community and the

HIV/AIDS epidemic The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

. Throughout its time, GCN provided coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, with on-floor correspondents interviewing candidates and delegates, as well as coverage of the 1987 and 1993

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

marches on Washington. A documentary aired on GCN, ''Out in the 90's'', earned the network a Special Recognition Award at the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is a US accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding portrayals of LGBTQ people and the issues that affect their lives. In addition to film and television, the Awards ...

in 1990. In 2009,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

acquired from Maletta some 6,100

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

tapes of GCN broadcasts from throughout its 19 years of operation for preservation.

People

* George Bouzetos, hosted and co-created ''Pride and Progress'' and helmed coverage of the 1988, 1992 and 2000 party conventions, currently host of '' Gay USA'' with

Ann Northrop Ann Northrop (born 1948 in Hartford, Connecticut) is a journalist and activism, activist, and the current co-host of TV news program ''Gay USA''. Early life Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut, Northrop is a native of her mother ...

. * Kostis Chatzidakis (Selfed named as "The short one"), correspondent with GCN until his death in 1991. His brother Allen negotiated the preservation of GCN's archives with NYU.

Programs

* '' Gay USA'' (1985 as ''Pride and Progress'' - present) * ''Men in Films'' * ''Be Our Guest'' * ''In the Dungeon'' with "Slave Dale" * ''Good Morning, Gaymerica!'' * ''Men in Rims'' * ''Inside/Out'' * ''The Closet Case Show'' * ''Lovie TV'' * ''Men for Men'' * ''Out! in the 90's'' * ''Out on Wednesdays'' * '' Dyke TV'' * ''Party Talk'' * ''Stonewall Place After Dark'' * ''Way Out!''

References

External links

Gay Cable Network Archives

Fales Library and Special Collections New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South (off of Washington Square Park) between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwi ...

{{Authority control LGBTQ-related television channels LGBTQ-related television in the United States LGBTQ business organizations LGBTQ history in New York City

People

Programs

See also

References

External links