Gay Fairfax: A History - page 3

The next big accomplishment for the show was the coverage of the 1990 D.C. Lesbian and Gay Pride Festival.  Special arrangements were made with Channel 10 to have Gay Fairfax volunteers trained on field cameras and FCAC sent staff member Pat Nash to help in the remote van as crew members took their first crack at directing three cameras live to tape and without a script. 

Some future Gay Fairfax folks got their start at the festival.  Rob Wilson, Diana Mangers, Lance Atiyeh, Brian Reed (who used the pseudonym Rod Stone), Anna Kramer, and former U.S. Congressman from Mississippi Jon Hinson were new members of the crew. Dave Hughes made his "on air" audition when he was asked in a festival interview, "Why are you proud to be Gay?” Segments from the festival were aired over the next year. A 1990 Gay Pride special program was produced in April 1991.

After the Pride festival Kevin, Larry, David Vanderbilt, and John Moore were motivated to produce a gay program that actually could be viewed by the gay community in Washington, DC. They left Gay Fairfax to produce their own gay program though the public access studio for the D.C. cable television. Michelle Michaels continued as co-host of Gay Fairfax and also became a co-host for their program entitled The Third Side.

Meanwhile Karen Brown was one of the first volunteers to become certified in portable camera equipment and editing at FCAC.  With the help of her brother Stephen, David Gogal, and others she produced many fine segments including the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians (P-FLAG), author Dell Richards, and others.   She went on to win an editing award at the annual FCAC Telly Awards at the same time that Gay Fairfax won the Best Public Affairs Program award.