Fridae

Activists and LGBT individuals held protests in front of the TV channel's offices in Mumbai and Hyderabad over the weekend, while protests in New Delhi and Bangalore will be held today. They are protesting TV9 Telugu channel's news story on Feb 22 that used hidden-camera footage, recorded phone conversations, photographs of members of a gay personals website and made public the identities of some gay men without their consent.

A graphic to be used on Facebook and/or other online networking sites circulated by protest organisers. Top of page: A picture from the Hyderabad protest against TV9 via Facebook.

Despite protests against the story and the video being removed by Youtube, News9, the TV9 English news channel in Bangalore, continued to telecast a slightly edited version the day after the original story was broadcast.

Organisers of a press conference and protest to be held at TV9's New Delhi office on Monday said: "This was grossly invasive, unethical and violated the basic regulations of the National Broadcasting Association.

"This broadcast has deeply and adversely impacted the lives of these individuals as well as all those who use such social networking sites as one of the few spaces available to the queer community to safely meet one another. This report is the latest in a series of incidents where the media has acted unethically in its coverage of sexuality."

Protesters are demanding that TV9 refrain from "negative and homophobic portrayals of the queer and other marginalised communities", stop replaying the footage on air and air a public apology to the the persons involved and the LGBT community at large.

Dnaindia.com reported that on Friday Mumbai's LGBT community and members of the Humsafar Trust, a non-profit dedicated to helping Mumbai's LGBT community, went to TV9's office with banners and white roses.

Pallav Patankar, director of HIV services at Humsafar Trust, wrote in a report obtained by Fridae that himself and four others met with Srivinas Reddy, a senior staff member of TV9 who tried to explain that the telecast on TV 9 was an accident and error as he was unaware that the raw footage was actually edited and put into their server. When further questioned, the staff member then argued that the intent of the report was to expose those who are involved in the sex trade through the report.

Pressed further, Reddy revealed that some of his staff members could be members of the site. The activists then countered saying that the report then could have been be the result of a personal vendetta and the TV station was abetting the individuals who were fulfilling their vested interests. Reddy denied the accusation.

Before leaving, the activists presented Reddy with their protest letters from various LGBT groups, flowers and an offer to conduct media advocacy workshops.

On Saturday, a crowd of 70 or 80 people gathered outside the TV 9 offices in Hyderabad to protest.

In Bangalore, citizens have started a signature campaign and will hold a silent protest at Mahatma Gandhi statue on Monday.

(Image updated Mar 1, 2011)

Aditya Bondyopadhyay, a lawyer and Director of LGBT rights group Adhikaar, wrote in a letter to TV9’s legal department highlighting the National Broadcasters Association Guidelines that they have breached and has given them till Mar 3 to reply before escalating the matter.

He was quoted in DNAindia as saying that the only positive thing in this situation is the visible uproar from the community. A few years ago when TV9 placed spycams in public toilets to ‘show what gays are up to’, the community did not publicly oppose or organise any action to condemn the story. But today, since homosexuality has been decriminalised, the community is "making their anger known to all the right people,” Bondyopadhyay said.