A working coalition of six Non-Governmental Organisations connected to the LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) community is calling for the SABC to publicly explain their position on the recent discontinuation of Radio 2000’s Tuesday Nite Live, previously the only South African gay and lesbian radio show broadcasting to a national audience. In August eMedia reported that ‘the show’s closure [was] a direct result of executive producer Maciek Mazur’s unwillingness to pay a 100 percent weekly fee increase for the ‘privilege’ of being on air.”
The coalition will present their concerns to SABC CEO Dali Mpofu at a meeting scheduled for early November. The concerns, which were highlighted in a statement released by the coalition, include a request for clarification on four key points: ‘Why Tuesday Nite Live seemed to have been treated as a problem case with bully tactics; how the SABC as a public broadcaster aims to pluralise broadcast interests; the reason behind imposing commercial rates on a marginalised community; and the failure of the SABC to identify alternative broadcast vehicles.”
On the question of rates, Mazur says the widespread belief that most of South Africa’s gay and lesbian community falls within LSMs 9 and 10 is a misconception. ‘There are gay people working everywhere, from the railways to Pep stores in Umkomaas. I acknowledge that not all gay-targeted content is commercially viable. But it is the duty of the public broadcaster to address those parts of our community that are beyond marketer’s radars.”
Arguing that Tuesday Nite Live had become a ‘much needed voice” for the LGBTI sector, which is estimated at 10 percent of the South African population, the coalition’s statement elaborates on suspected motivations behind the show’s closure: ‘We hope that it is not yet a further act of indirect discrimination nor a case of not valuing the needs of a community that faces countless acts of silencing and human rights abuses.”
Mazur informs eMedia that the Freedom of Expression Institute has indicated a willingness ‘to get involved in the cause”, and that the coalition has received letters of support from a number of individuals and institutions. ‘We will be presenting these letters of support at our meeting with Dali Mpofu in November.”
Outside of the six NGOs, the coalition’s ‘partner organisations” currently include the Unisa Centre for Applied Psychology and the Unisa Centre for Gender Studies.
From e-Media, the inside scoop on the media industry. Get The Media’s FREE breaking news newsletter, delivered by e-mail. Subscribe by e-mail now