Lack of Funds to Put Gay News Off Air

“Spectrum News Network,” a locally produced cable news program that focused on gay and lesbian issues, has suspended operation indefinitely because of a lack of funds, producers said Friday.

“In recent months, (‘Spectrum News’) has been unable to raise the money necessary to keep up with production costs,” producer K. Bradley Hudson said. The nonprofit operation, which must raise about $2,500 a month, runs solely on donations and grants from individuals and community organizations, he said.

“Spectrum News” was first broadcast in May, 1989. It has been airing every two weeks over 15 cable systems that reach a million households throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties, Hudson said.

The network’s final edition will air Monday and during the following two weeks. Hudson said he is exploring the possibility of producing “Spectrum News” on a commercial basis.