''Gay News and Views'' is a Canadian television series, which aired on cable community channels in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

area in 1977 and 1978. Produced by the Gay TV Collective at the facilities of

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and H ...

, the series was a news and information program targeted at

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 ...

audiences."TV series on the air". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987. It was one of Canada's first significant gay publications, and played a prominent role in the development of the LGBT community in Canada. ''The Body Po ...

'', October 1, 1977. Although produced by Maclean-Hunter, the series also aired on the

Rogers Cable Rogers Cable is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, primarily in Southern and Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Roger ...

and Metro Cable systems. The program premiered on September 19, 1977. It consisted of a news segment produced in conjunction with the staff of ''

'', interviews and discussion segments, entertainment by gay musicians and comedians, and a community events calendar. Known members of the programming collective included host Gordon Montador"Gay news re-scheduled after TV viewers complain". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', September 23, 1977. and producer Frank Hutchings."Maclean-Hunter cancels Gay T.V.". ''

'', June 1, 1978.

Controversies

The program's first episode aired at 6 p.m., although in subsequent weeks it was rescheduled to air at 10 p.m. due to viewer complaints. Two days after the first episode, Rogers backed out of airing the show on the grounds of the complaints."Rights of access — Cable, FM and the dailies: one foot in the door, two doors in the face". ''

'', November 1, 1977. Rogers claimed that they already had their own separate LGBT-oriented show in development, and that they were concerned about the

CRTC The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

making an issue of the service airing a program produced by another cable company. Due to pressure from the LGBT community, including support from the collective producing a similar show in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, the company reinstated the program three weeks later. It was eventually revealed that there were fewer than 20 actual complaints about the first episode. The show was also subject to efforts by Maclean-Hunter to impose a special code of conduct, a practice it did not follow with any other show being produced for the company. The code would have banned "propagandizing" or "recruiting" for gay organizations, would have restricted the show to content that was "educational and informative", and would have required in the name of "balance" that at least one person "not identified with the gay community" had to appear on each episode. The code was not adopted, although Maclean-Hunter retained the right to pre-screen content that might involve "controversial or unusual material".

Cancellation

The program was cancelled by Maclean-Hunter on May 26, 1978. In his statement announcing the cancellation, Maclean-Hunter executive John Haynes described the program as "offensive", as "intellectually hostile", and as "disrespectful to the establishment heterosexual community". He falsely claimed that the program had shown a photo of two men kissing in the nude, when in fact the men in the photo were fully clothed and attending a

Gay Alliance Toward Equality The Gay Alliance Toward Equality, or GATE, was one of the first gay liberation groups in Canada.Ed Jackson and Stan Persky, ''Flaunting It! 1964-1982: A Decade of Gay Journalism from The Body Politic''. Pink Triangle Press, 1982. Formed in spr ...

dance. A spokesman for Metro Cable issued a statement indicating that company had no issues with the program's content. Following its cancellation, a radio program of the same title debuted on CKMS-FM in

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

as Canada's first known LGBT-oriented radio program."Gays take to the air (waves, that is)." ''

'', September 1, 1978.

References

{{Portal, Television, Canada 1977 Canadian television series debuts 1978 Canadian television series endings 1970s Canadian television news shows 1970s Canadian LGBTQ-related television series Television shows filmed in Toronto Canadian community channel television shows LGBTQ history in Toronto 1977 LGBTQ-related television