Gay radio out of the closet

25 May 2016 - 08:38 By AZIZZAR MOSUPI

The station's 24-hour content focuses on the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex) community, and aims to be a touchstone for all the continent.Operating as Gay SA Radio since January, the online station is available for streaming all week, with the breakfast show, titled Eggs and Sausage, with Hendrik Baird kick-starting programming at 6am. Speaking to The Times, operations manager Baird said the purpose of the station was to offer a true window into the often misunderstood community."We're saying we're the only gay radio station on the continent and we want to shine a true light into the LGBTI community," said Baird.Despite being an online station, Baird says that there is a full programming schedule, as is the case with a typical radio station.The lineup includes shows such as the Workday Jive from 9am to noon, which looks at the corporate space as experienced by LGBTI members; Rainbow Talk, from noon to 3pm, which covers a wide range of lifestyle topics including parenting and travel; and The Gay Agenda which looks at topical LGBTI news starting at 3pm.Said Baird: "We also want to spread the discussion across the continent, so we have connections and contributors in Nigeria and Uganda, as well as the US and are currently setting up in the Seychelles."Baird advised that children under 16 years old must avoid the station as some of the material was of a sensitive nature.Cocktail Hour, from 6pm to 8pm, looks at the arts.After 8pm, the station is dedicated to music until the next day's breakfast show.An exception occurs on Wednesdays for the adult talk show Steam Room, from 8pm to 10pm, on which host Baird discusses sexual matters.The 30-member staff is composed predominantly of people who identify themselves as part of the LGBTI community.Said Baird: "We're not excluding anybody, but primarily, our doors are open to LGBTI people and those who identify as friends of LGBTI."www.gaysaradio.co.za..

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