XEK-AM Call-In Show Will Address Gay Issues

The producers of what was Orange County’s first gay-oriented television news show will on Monday launch a live, call-in radio talk program focusing on gay issues.

The 30-minute show, called OUTlook, will make its debut at 8 p.m. on Hollywood-based commercial station XEK-AM (950), said K. Bradley Hudson, who produced “Spectrum News Network,” a non-profit, biweekly cable program seen in Orange and Los Angeles counties. After 2 1/2 years of operation, Hudson suspended production of “Spectrum News” in August because of a lack of funds.

“OUTlook will be a way to....retain a voice for the gay community in the media,” said Hudson, who is sharing start-up costs for the radio show with co-host and co-producer Bonnie Brandon.

The show will “provide an interactive forum for the issues of today’s lesbians and gay men,” he said. “Informative, social, political and just plain fun dialogue will take place” between the hosts and callers.&

XEK-AM is a 24-hour news and talk show with studios in Hollywood and which broadcasts out of Ensenada, Mexico. Its signal covers San Diego to Santa Barbara, station sales manager Denise Garrett said.

OUTlook was the station’s idea and will be its first gay-oriented program, Garrett said.

“I think it’s a very interesting subject, and I think everyone should be able to give their opinion on how they feel” about homosexuality and related issues, she said.