FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2005
QTV News Magazine
West Coast
San Francisco, California
Tel: 415.505.7607
415.334.7749
Fax: 415.239.5164
(San Francisco)—–The city’s longest-running commercial gay television show, QTV News Magazine with Rahn Fudge and COMCAST’s new queer talk show, OUT Spoken
hosted by Tim Gaskin, will join forces to offer comprehensive coverage of San Francisco’s LGBT community starting next month.
QTV News Magazine Executive Producer Rahn Fudge and OUT Spoken’s Tim Gaskin announce an agreement to provide a news section for each episode of the
ComcastSF-backed OUT Spoken program. Presently, OUT Spoken runs in San Francisco on cable channel (11) four times each month. The pair is optimistic
that by combining forces OUT Spoken will become an extra informative and a more entertaining half-hour program, perhaps making both gay TV programs worthy
of being picked up to run on the new MTV/Viacom LOGO gay television
network expected to debut nationwide in June of this year.
QTV News Magazine is a 10-year-old San Francisco-based cable television program with a mission of putting consistent positive images of the LGBT community on
television in a newsmagazine-style format. The program was originally founded back in 1995 as a grassroots gay TV effort by a group of both gay and straight
media professionals who–many of them–have since moved on to work with local mainstream media such as Tech TV and San Francisco’s independent television
station, KRON-TV 4. Fudge has sat as Executive Producer of QTV since its inception and is also one of the original co-founders of QTV. Today he is
Founder and CEO of the for-profit, privately-owned Rainbow World Media, the parent company of QTV News Magazine.
Clarence Swiggins, COO of Rainbow World Media, who spearheads all pre and post production matters with QTV News Magazine and who in September of 1994
initialized an agreement with national website development company UPLINK USA to create the online QTV News service, says the merger of OUT Spoken and QTV
“is a plus for the LGBT community. It’s a long time coming. It has finally come to the point where the mainstream media is paying attention to the needs
of the gay community. We’re hopeful that media giants like LOGO and HERE! Television will be attracted to both our local gay television efforts.”
Gaskin is excited by the chance to give QTV News Magazine a consistent and easy-to-find platform for viewers who’ve supported the program down through the
years. “It’s thrilling to partner with QTV because they’re exceptional at LGBT news and information and should be seen, supported and celebrated. Admittedly,
it’s good for us at OUT Spoken too. People want to be informed as well as entertained, therefore partnering with QTV will make our show even better.”
OUT Spoken launched six-months ago as a half-hour gay talk show with four hosts.
It has evolved to be an in-studio talk show hosted by Gaskin with two
outside produced feature segments hosted by Janine Shiota or with guest segment hosts such as model/singer Blair Shepard, Trannyshack’s Heklina and very soon,
community leader Donna Sachet.
Gaskin says adding a three-minute news section just makes sense. “LGBT news only makes it in the mainstream media when it’s sensational or scandalous.
That’s because our lives continue to be marginalized by news media executives. Our show addresses the underserved local LGBT population that craves LGBT news
and information–news that is not being reported in the mainstream and brought to them by people they trust; LGBT reporters.”
OUT Spoken, episode six premieres on COMCAST cable channel 11 (City Station). Check your local gay newspaper listings for exact time and dates. The
episode features a segment interview with CBS’s Amazing Race 4 winner Reichen Burke and a segment profile on PlanetOut, Inc.
On the couch are ‘Gal Pals’—Honey Labrador and Robbie Laughlin of Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Girl, Supervisor Ross Mikirini who discusses his
legislation to curb pot clubs, the new Pride Idol winner and transgender Josh
Klipp, and Destination Foundation’s Tim Hepworth. The episode will, of course,
also include the three-minute debut installment of LGBT news produced by QTV News Magazine with Rahn Fudge.
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QTV News Magazine
West Coast
San Francisco, California
Rahn Fudge, 415.505.7607 (cell)
Clarence Swiggins, 415. 334.7749 (phone)
Fax: 415.239.5164
Executive Producer, Rahn d. Fudge is Founder, CEO of Rainbow World Media which encompasses QTV News Magazine, the broadcast and the online QTV News service
powered and engineered by Key West, Florida-based UPLINK USA; Paul Vizard, main contact
(305.731.9242). Fudge has a background in television news producing and reporting having worked for several years with network television affiliates
throughout much of the Southeastern United States. Fudge says he started QTV News Magazine as something beneficial to the LGBT community and to give a voice
to and put a face on the local gay community by using the power of television.
COO, Clarence Swiggins has worked as Chief Photographer with QTV since 1995 and recently became Chief of Operations handling all aspects of the pre and post
production concerns for QTV to include photography, editing and all equipment matters. He also acts as main
liaison for the online QTV News service partnership with UPLINK USA. www.uplinkusa.com
Executive Producer, Tim Gaskin is creator, producer and host of OUT Spoken. He is also a co-producer and co-host of ComcastSF’s most recognized show Inside
City Limits which has been a San Francisco television staple for over twelve years. His new show on Housebusters for Bravo premieres in 2005.
http://www.timgaskin.com
Segment Host, Janine Shiota also produces San Francisco’s most popular monthly party called ‘Fresh’ at Ruby Skye. Most notably she ran Back Flip
restaurant and lounge inside of one of hotel mogul Chip Conley’s Joie de Vivre boutique
hotels, the Phoenix Hotel and prior to that was an original team member of Audrey Joseph’s Club Townsend, a famous San Francisco nightclub that
was once a nightlife tradition for the LGBT community for many years and featured a host of national and international celebrities.
http://www.freshsf.com
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For more information: www.qtvnews.tv
For more information: www.outspokensf.com
Contact: rahn@qtvnews.tv
Phone: 415.505.7607 (cell)