Austin Gay Radio
When you think of the state of Texas, images of tough cowboys, big hats, wranglers, and boots come to mind. About the last thing you associate with Texas is anything gay. Let alone a gay radio program that airs weekly in Austin, TX. However, Austin has always held the special distinction of being the small island of blue in a deep red state. OutCast Radio is an award winning gay radio program that airs every Tuesday at 6pm CST on KOOP 91.7FM in Austin. It’s currently hosted by Heath Riddles, Stephen Rice, and Kate Messer. What is the history of gay radio programming in Austin, and what are the plans for it’s future? I recently got the opportunity to sit in on one of their programs and see first hand the men behind the program.
The story of gay public radio in Austin actually predates the show OutCast. Starting in 1999, Lonny Stern, launched OutSpoken at KOOP 91.7FM. It was a gay advocacy program that promoted local gay issues. His show was on the air until 2006.
Heath Riddles grew up in Oklahoma City, OK. For most of his adolecent life he was in the closet, and didn’t come out until he was in college. When his fraternity brothers found out he was gay he was completely shunned. It was a devastating experience for him. He was shocked to find people that he once thought of as his friends, now wouldn’t even acknowledge him walking around on campus. Luckily, when he came out to his family they were completely supportive. To this day, Heath’s dad makes sure he listens to his son’s radio show every week and promptly calls him afterwards to tell him how he did.
After college, Heath started his career at an NBC affiliate in Oklahoma City. Due to the competitive nature of the TV news business, it was difficult for Heath to catch a break. Especially, when working for a small market like Oklahoma City. It wasn’t until the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, that Heath was given an opportunity to produce news content. After that, Heath soon found his way to Austin, and got an opportunity to produce the 10 o’clock news for the local Fox affiliate.
Heath soon realized that his passion wasn’t in the commercial news business, but was in gay rights and advocacy programs. Heath left the TV news business in 1997 to work in development at AIDS Services of Austin. He has also worked as Deputy Director at the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas (currently Equality Texas) and in 2002 was appointed by Mayor Will Wynn to serve on the Austin Area Comprehensive HIV Planning Council.
During his time working with AIDS Services of Austin, Heath ended up meeting Stephen Rice. Stephen shared a similar story to Heath. Stephen grew up in ultra conservative Tyler, TX. He too, waited till college to come out. He was also a member of a fraternity at Southwest Texas State, and was even the Vice President of his fraternity. His story, unfortunately, like Heath’s ended in being completely shunned by his frat brothers after coming out. At the time, Stephen remembers not really being comfortable with the label of being gay until moving to Austin. It wasn’t until he found his friends and made his own “gay family” in Austin that he felt like he could truly be himself.
Both Heath and Stephen shared a passion for gay advocacy. They even ended up becoming neighbors and developed a strong friendship over the years. In 2008, after a two year gap since the original OutSpoken aired, Heath decided that he wanted to launch his own version. He went to the same public radio station that produced OutSpoken, and pitched his show OutCast. With his experience in television production, gay rights advocacy, and a great voice he was all but guaranteed to be picked up by the station.
When OutCast first launched, it was just a one man show starring Heath. Stephen remembers begging Heath to join the show, and after much persuasion, Heath let Stephen join the show in periodic guest appearances. These guest appearances soon turned into a regular co-host position for Stephen.
Just listening to the two of them, you would believe they both originally set out to be radio personalities. They both have the sort of voice that translates perfectly their chosen medium. It’s a talent both admitted just came naturally. Their programming initially focused on local gay news and issues, but they quickly found that through podcasting, they actually had a much larger national audience. They have now become national gay radio personalities. As an example of their national reach, they most recently were invited to the national gay press conference in San Francisco.
OutCast Radio is a completely non-profit organization. It is sponsored by Dell Computers Gay and Lesbian Outreach group. All sponsorship funds are used to pay the radio station broadcast fees. While it’s not a paying gig for Heath or Stephen, it’s a labor of love. It fulfills a passion for both of them to help further the cause of gay rights, by providing a public forum for other gay advocates.
As their radio show has grown, they have tried to keep up with the needs of their ever expanding audience. Recently, they have added Kate Messer to the program. Kate brings a strong journalism background, as well as balanced voice for the lesbian community to their program.
It’s not a stretch to envision their show continuing to grow and eventually getting picked up by either XM or Sirius Radio. Till then you can listen live every Tuesday at 6pm CST on 91.7FM in Austin, or you can listen to their show on their website via podcast.
For more information on this article:
• Listen to OutCast Radio
• OutCast Radio Website
• KOOP 91.7FM
