Roland G. Schembari; S.F. Gay Media Pioneer

Roland G. Schembari, 56, co-founder of the San Francisco Bay Times and a pioneer of gay news media in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Times, which debuted in 1978, was the first publication locally and one of the first in the nation aimed at and produced by gays. The debut was a flop, and it shut down after three issues, said Schembari’s longtime partner, Fred Schadick. “They had grandiose plans in the beginning, but they couldn’t pay the bills,” said Schadick. “They realized they couldn’t start big. But they were committed to producing what they considered to be a responsible and . . . honest publication.” Within a year, Schembari and the late Bill Hartman co-founded a cheaper alternative called Coming Up. By 1988, the publication was doing well and had changed its name to the Bay Times. Born in New York City, Schembari grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended Georgetown University, the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin before coming to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1973. Schembari also worked for Berkeley public radio station KPFA-FM, covering San Francisco City Hall in the aftermath of the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. He was part of the group that produced the nation’s first gay radio show, “Fruit Punch,” also on KPFA-FM. In the last few years, Schembari was involved in the Oral History Project of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society of Northern California, interviewing many key figures in the homosexual community. On Monday of cancer at Alta Bates Hospital in Berkeley.