PRESS RELEASE:

Guilford, VT:

John Scagliotti, who fifteen years ago launched the first national television series concerning gay issues on Public Television, In the Life, has begun a new Producers Consortium to develop new uncensored original programming directed to the needs of the glbt community. The productions will be funded similarly to In the Life, via members' subscriptions throughout the country that join the rental site GoGayDVD.com.

"They said In the Life would be an impossible venture but we were able to develop that series into an ongoing fifteen-year run on 120 public television stations across America." But now, Scagliotti, who for thirty years has been on the forefront and a pioneer of gay media production, (Before Stonewall, After Stonewall and Dangerous Living) feels the time has come to develop a new forum for producers who are not bound by the traditional demands of the networks and their distribution systems.

With the advent of the Internet, DVD technology and downloading it has become clear that the way we watch media is changing dramatically. But some of this new technology has a down side. Scagliotti points out, "recently gay film distribution has been consolidated into the mega-rental companies. Meanwhile PBS and other networks like MTV on basic cable are forced to move more conservatively with regards to gay content due to the political and market restraints. The results might at first seem like more programming opportunities for the gay community but on the issues that really count, like glbt politics, religion and sexuality, producers are being censored or adjusting the content to fit the needs of the gatekeepers". Scagliotti went on to explain, that as a producer who has been forced to work around these gatekeepers, it is time to create a new system that allows the audience to determine more of our programming needs and "not those of the market driven pencil pushers or politicians in Washington. We need the freedom from these mega-companies and the government to provide uncensored quality programs.We need more than gay-dating games and consumer driven gay travel shows."

The Independent GLBT Video and Filmmakers Consortium (IGVFC) will provide original programming for members of GoGayDVD.com. The goal of 100,000 members by the end of 2007 will make possible the production funding for many new programs. "The members, through surveys and member reading panels will actually be part of the decision making process on what gets produced and funded," says Scagliotti. Many of the new programs will also be available to the general public through download and streaming at gogaydvd streams.