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

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 diversification (finance), diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers J ...

, the series was a news and information program targeted at

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

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

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

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

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

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

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', 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. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

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

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', 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". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', 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; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

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 (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, 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 Canadian gay liberation groups.Ed Jackson and Stan Persky, ''Flaunting It! 1964-1982: A Decade of Gay Journalism from The Body Politic''. Pink Triangle Press, 1982. Formed in sp ...

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 CKMS-FM (branded as ''Radio Waterloo'') is a Canadian community radio station, broadcasting at 102.7 FM in Waterloo, Ontario. History The station launched in 1977 at 94.5 FM as the campus radio station of the University of Waterloo The Uni ...

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

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', September 1, 1978.

References

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