First Gay Radio Show

To my knowledge no program has ever claimed to be the first hosted by a homosexual. In fact it is impossible to know how many of the hosts, actors, singers, producers and other staff in all of radio who have been gay since the beginning of broadcasting. But we do know that there was one show in the early 1990s which was marketed to a gay audience with an openly gay host. It is my most likely candidate for the first "gay" radio show. It was called Queer Talk.

Host Charlie Bado was the founder of South Florida`s Gays United to Attack Repression and Discrimination (GUARD.) The three-hour show debuted in September of 1992 airing Saturday nights on 1400 WFTL-AM.  Guests included both effeminate and butch gays but also sometimes Robert Culbertson from the Worthy Creations Ministry in Fort Lauderdale, a church specializing in "curing" gays. Within weeks of it's debut the Sun Sentinel Newspaper printed the headline "Station Taps A New Market With Gay Radio Show." The same newspaper wrote the following of the program

"The station deliberately chose two types of gay males as hosts for the show and to represent the gay community —one who looks and behaves straight, the other effeminate. Rae's carefully plucked brows, rosy cheeks and effeminate manner introduce him before he speaks. He says he`s a queen and proud of it. Bado flaunts his masculine appearance. He flirts, winks and could no doubt break a female heart or two with those tight jeans. He describes himself as butch. "Charlie wants to blend in; I don't," Rae says. "I'm colorful and flamboyant and I want people to know who they are dealing with."

How did this show happen?  PD Nick Lawrence claimed that the show grew out of the audience reaction to a dating program on the same station. I expect it also had something to do with the revenue potential. It was estimated that the gay community of Broward county numbered over 100k with at least $2 billion in disposable income excluding tourists. As Pat Curry once wrote "One thing`s certain about WFTL, It`s never boring." Queer Talk appears to have aired for less than a year. More WFTL history here.

In October of 2003 WTFL-AM switched calls with 850 WEAT-AM.  The personality of the station was lost in the process. The station on 850 tried and failed at an all news format. Today 1400 in Ft. Lauderdale airs brokered ethnic programming. The whereabouts of Charlie Bado are unknown. The new WFTL-AM on 850 retains little of the original local flavor.

Radio Preachers part 1

Three names never before combined in one sentence: Bob Larson, Geraldo Rivera and Jesus.

I first heard of Bob Larsen from world-renowned mega-prick Glen Benton, singer of the death metal band Deicide. At the time Glen was leveling physical threats against Bob. Somthing silly about branding inverted crosses on his ass or something. Bob retorts days later on air with silliness about holy armor and the virility of Jesus or some crap. I wish I kew how that started.

Bob Larson, was once described by a critic as "the Geraldo Rivera of Jesus radio." That's because he is:
A.The host of a christian talk program http://www.boblarson.org/
B. A meglomaniac attention-whore with a overgrown moustache.
(just kidding, it's really more of a beard than a moustache.)

His program is Talk Back with Bob Larson was launched back in the Regan era. It's a Christian talk radio program heard throughout the United States and Canada. His prime obsessions are centered around debunking science, attacking NASA and in general trying to disregard the last century of technology and medicine. He's the kind of primate that makes the other monkeys look bad. He's type of guy that sneaks on to your school board and tries to get the word evolution scrubbed from Biology text books. (Don't laugh. It's happened in some states) He's been heard on major market outlets like KVTT in Dallas, 760 WCHP-AM Champlain & Montreal QC, WFTL Ft. Lauderdale, and 1280 KXEG-AM Phoenix. His monistry of course is based in Denver. after a breif absence he returned to the air in 2004.

On another interesting note, Bob claims that NASA has "made the late Carl Sagan the patron saint of the search for life on other planets. Our space program is driven by occult inspiration, not scientific investigation." Yes, he actually said that. He accuses NASA of being a federally funded satanic organization. Oy vey. He also performs an on-the-air exorcism to protect us from the evil hoards of Samhain on Halloween. Good job Bob, keep those naughty naughty satanic astronauts at bay. But like most radio evangelists, his career has been continually marred by the perpetual pitfalls of infidelity, embezzling, tax evasion et. al. nothing new here.

In 1993 Larson appeared as a guest on Ft. Lauderdale radio station WFTL, denouncing death-metal bands like Slayer and others as "posers" who are merely in it for the money. But when host Pat Stevens asked him whether he was in the ministry for the money, he indignantly said that he was "insulted" that she would even ask that question... Of course he always closes with a request for your pledges.

It was that line that spurred a mild-mannered CPA to call in and tear him to bits.
http://www.holysmoke.org/wicca/bl004.htm