Gay Cable Network
Encyclopedia
Gay Cable Network was one of the first cable television networks which openly appealed to a gay and lesbian audience. It was established in 1982 in New York City by Lou Maletta
, was broadcasted on Manhattan Cable Television channel 35 and wound down operations in 2000-2001. It initially broadcast a series titled Men in Films, which explored male erotica, and evolved to host a wider variety of content, including news and current affairs programs which covered political developments affecting the LGBT community and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. 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 marches on Washington.
In 2009, New York University
acquired from Maletta some 6,100 VHS tapes of GCN broadcasts from throughout its 19 years of operation for preservation.
Lou Maletta
Louis Phillip "Lou" Maletta Jr. was an American media executive and LGBT rights activist. Maletta founded the Gay Cable Network in 1982.-Life and career:...
, was broadcasted on Manhattan Cable Television channel 35 and wound down operations in 2000-2001. It initially broadcast a series titled Men in Films, which explored male erotica, and evolved to host a wider variety of content, including news and current affairs programs which covered political developments affecting the LGBT community and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. 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 marches on Washington.
In 2009, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
acquired from Maletta some 6,100 VHS tapes of GCN broadcasts from throughout its 19 years of operation for preservation.
People
- Andy HummAndy HummAndy Humm is a journalist, activist and currently co-host of TV news program Gay USA.-Career:As a gay news reporter, Humm has covered virtually every major gay and AIDS news story since the 1980s...
, hosted and co-created Pride and Progress and helmed coverage of the 1988, 1992 and 2000 party conventions, currently host of Gay USAGay USAGay USA is a weekly one-hour news program "...devoted to in-depth coverage of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues" on a local, state, national, and international level. It is filmed in the studios of, and aired by, Manhattan Neighborhood Network in Manhattan, New York...
with Ann NorthropAnn NorthropAnn Northrop is a journalist and activist, and the current co-host of TV news program Gay USA.-Early life:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Northrop is a native of her mother's hometown, Windsor...
. - Phil Zwickler, correspondent with GCN until his death in 1991. His brother Allen negotiated the preservation of GCN's archives with NYU.