Toronto radio to
launch first all-gay station

Toronto will welcome its first gay-themed FM radio station, Proud FM, on April 16 at 103.9 FM. Proud FM will play an eclectic mix of music and will feature "unique and inclusive" talk show programs, according to The Globe and Mail, a Toronto newspaper.

The 50-watt signal station is aiming to reach 455,000 listeners locally per week, according to the Globe. The station is currently broadcasting a loop of music and promotional clips until its launch next Monday at 10:39 a.m.

Proud FM is engaged in a public relations battle with Xtra, a gay newspaper, over support of the station from Xtra's publisher, Pink Triangle Press. The president and executive director of Pink Triangle Press, Ken Popert, said the station's co-owner refused to promise not to convert Proud FM into a conventional station once the license was approved, according to the Globe. The station's owners also would not guarantee that they would use content from Xtra for the station's news content. After agreements could not be reached, Pink Triangle Press decided not to back the station. (The Advocate)