[OutVoice] THANK YOU from "This Way Out"!

[tworadio at aol.com]

Happy 2009!

“This Way Out” continues to survive because of the dozens upon dozens of donations we receive from good people like you: thank you!  A major cash shortfall put "This Way Out's" very existence in jeopardy late last year.  Due to the failure of our previous Internet licensor to pay over $8,200 in carriage fees -- nearly one third of our annual budget -- meeting our most basic production and distribution expenses became a serious challenge.  Thanks to your support, however – almost double the amount of donations we received in 2007 – we’ll be able to pay those costs, at least for the next several weeks, for which we are sincerely grateful.  We also acknowledge, with deep appreciation, the support we received during 2008 from the Kicking Assets Fund of the Tides Foundation; the Gay Chemists Support Fund of the Horizons Foundation; the Brisbane Pride Festival; the Rainbow Amateur Radio Association; and voluntary program acquisition payments from affiliate stations WPKN/Bridgeport, CT; KUR/Kutztown, PA; KPFT/Houston, TX; KMUD/Redway, CA; KALW/San Francisco, CA; WRIR/Richmond, VA; WDFH/Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.; KMUN/Astoria, OR; KUGS/Bellingham, WA; and CKUW/Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We still have debt of more than $2,000 that we're not sure when or how we'll be able to pay off.  We're counting on renewed foundation funding to come in during the next few months just to help keep us going -- so we still need your help!   Please make your contribution using one of the Pay
Pal links at www.thiswayout.org.  If you need something tangible in return, ask for one or more of the special thank you gifts described there -- including the 2008 versions of our annual "Audiofile Year in Review" and "Pride On Screen".

Remember, you can listen to "This Way Out" via our free podcasts by clicking on the button in the upper right hand corner at www.thiswayout.org.  You'll hear a one-of-a-kind community radio show for and about sexual minorities around the world, produced with a dedicated group of unpaid volunteers.  Our “NewsWrap” segment offers radio’s only weekly international LGBT newscast, and "This Way Out" program features -- just in the past year – have included conversations with award-winning playwright Tony Kushner, drag diva RuPaul, and trans-artists S. Bear Bergman and Tobias K. Davis.  We also heard from Two-Spirit leader Richard La Fortune, author/actor/youth advocate James Lecesne, feminist law professor Nancy Polikoff, Jamaican activist Gareth Henry and Stop Murder Music leader Akim Larcher, retiring gay New Zealand M.P. Tim Barnett, notoriously “out” and funny jazz singer Lea DeLaria, “Running With Scissors” and “A Wolf at the Table” novelist Augusten Burroughs, “When You’re Fully Engulfed in Flames” humorist David Sedaris, "Don't Get Too Comfortable" gonzo journalist David Rakoff, and gay Muslim director and co-producer Parvez Sharma about his documentary “A Jihad for Love.”  Some of the stars an
d screenwriter Dustin Lance Bass and director Gus Van Sant of the landmark film “Milk” discussed its making, creator Del Shores and star Jason Dottley celebrated their hilarious Logo TV series “Sordid Lives,” and Darryl Stephens, the title character in the groundbreaking Logo TV series and follow-up movie “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom” talked about battling homophobia in the African-American community.  We offered highlights from the keynote address by Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson at the 40th anniversary celebration of Metropolitan Community Church/Los Angeles, ex “ex-gay” activist Peterson Toscano described his “adventures" at the global Anglican Communion's once-a-decade Lambeth Conference in England, award-winning Radio Netherlands reporter Eric Beauchemin profiled the lives of gays and lesbians in Cameroon, his colleague Jonathan Groubert profiled a gay Egyptian Muslim living in French exile, and we aired excerpts from an interview about lesbigay issues with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Veteran writer Janet Mason continues to offer LGBT literary critiques and commentaries, and we celebrated the 25th anniversary of venerable Canada Customs-fighting Vancouver bookstore Little Sister’s with co-founder Jim Deva and longtime manager Janine Fuller.  We traced the herstory of Olivia Records with co-founder Judy Dlugacz, and previewed the musical “Babe” (Didrikson) and a play-in-progress about the life of James Baldwin.
Iconic openly lesbian singer/songwriter Janis Ian discussed
 her music and her lifelong social activism.

We had on-scene coverage of the California Supreme Court marriage equality ruling in May, the state’s first legal same-gender marriages in June, and the Connecticut Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling in October and the first lesbigay marriages there in November.  We provided LGBT-related reports about both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, interviews with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, and took a close look at GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.  We had comprehensive coverage of the anti-gay ballot measures in four U.S. states, and continue to report on the unprecedented aftermath of Proposition 8's passage in California.  "Audiofile" spotlights new CDs by openly-LGBT musicians each month, our award-winning Steve Pride regularly offers queer-related entertainment features, and the “Rainbow Minute” provides capsule summaries of people and events around the world in LGBT history.

Please don't let "This Way Out" become a victim of what we know are difficult economic times!  Make your donation using PayPal at www.thiswayout.org, or postal-mail your check or money order to PO Box 38327, Los Angeles, CA 90038-0327, USA.

We'll happily acknowledge donations of at least $250 on the air if you so desire.  Please know how much we genuinely appreciate every contribution, no matter the size.  We need everyone's support -- at whatever level you can afford -- to keep this vital LGBT institution going.

Th
anks again, and all best wishes from the "This Way Out" family to you and yours for a safe, healthy, happy, prosperous, and productive 2009!
 
Greg Gordon, Coordinating Producer
Lucia Chappelle, Associate Producer
"This Way Out"
Jon Beaupre, Chair, Overnight Productions (Inc.) Board of Directors