The Winnipeg Gay Media Collective began in 1980 from a small group of gay activists whom had produced weekly half-hour radio programs, starting in 1978, on the University of Manitoba radio station CJUM-FM (Gay Christian Witness and Gaysweek). These programs were initially sponsored by the gay non-denominational organization Council on Homosexuality & Religion. From the closing of CJUM in the spring of 1980, the Winnipeg Gay Media Collective began with the broadcasting of a new weekly gay half-hour TV program on cable channel 13 called Coming Out! The program ran from 1980 to 1986 and featurred interviews with both local and international gay and non-gay guests. The topics of each broadcast were varied but focused on gay cultural, social and political issues.

The Council on Homosexuality and Religion was founded in 1976 as an agency for promoting the welfare of homosexual persons, particularly as regards their religious and spiritual life, and the understanding of homosexuality among the religious and social service institutions with which homosexual persons were in contact. The Council was registered as a non-profit corporation in the Province of Manitoba in 1977 and as a charitable institution with Revenue Canada in 1978. In addition to counselling, the Council was active in compilation, production and distribution of printed and audio-visual materials on homosexuality. On February 6, 1978 the Council began sponsoring a weekly half-hour radio program called Gay Christian Witness (Gay Christian Forum) which was aired on the University of Manitoba radio station CJUM FM. Providing relevant speaker sessions, workshops and seminars was also a mainstay of the organization.