TV9 (Telugu)
Encyclopedia
TV9 is a Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 news channel started in January 2004 by a team of journalists led by Ravi Prakash

It gained instant popularity among the masses with the punchline "మెరుగైన సమాజం కొసం"(For A Better Society). Currently it is no 1 telugu news channel in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The network has opposed the caste system prevalent in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Expansion

Following success in Andhra Pradesh, TV9 expanded its network with news channels in Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

 and Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...

 languages. These channels are broadcast by Associated Broadcasting Company Private Limited of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.but now it is heading towards repleteness because of its limited regional audience, so tv9 is trying to bring in vast structural changes.

Controversies

In 2010, TV9 broadcast a transphobic and exploitative feature titled 'Transgender prostitution on the rise in Hyderabad", in which the narrator accused the transgender community of "encashing the unnatural desires of some people", referred to transgender sexworkers as ONE BY TWOs (one by twulu) - a derogatory Telugu term, and claiming that they look "ugly and repulsive" (vikruthamgaa, vichitramgaa unna veeru).
In Feb 2011, a “sting operation” conducted by a TV9 Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

 news channel on the ‘gay culture’ in the Hyderabad city angered the gay community, which carried out protests outside the Mumbai and Hyderabad offices of TV9. The community members say that the programme, which was aired on prime time news on Feb 22 2011, projected homosexuals in a very poor light which amounts to discrimination. It gave out details from a website, a social networking site for gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 men, and later also telecast visuals of a pub in the city which conducts gay parties. “The programme projected gays as criminals and their activities as illegal, Equality before Law: Article 14 of the constitution guarantees that all the citizens shall be equally protected by the laws of the country. It means that the state cannot discriminate against a citizen on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex,religion or place of birth. TV 9 does not have any rights to expose indians sexual orientation without their permission” said Sourendra Kumar Das
Sourendra Kumar Das
Sourendra Kumar Das is a fashion editor with FashionFad.In who writes in English and a gay activist who fights for attaining equal rights of the LGBTI community. He has been writing on gender, sexuality, fashion, lifestyle and various diverse topics since 2004...

, gay activist and journalist based in Mumbai. Many people from the community are angry over the channel airing images of people without caring to protect their privacy.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community were miffed by the channel's outrageous telecast of personal details of members and decided to offer roses to staff of the news channel and request them to overcome their homophobia. Harish Iyer, a Mumbai-based gay activist said "What was the sting operation for since it is absolutely legal for two consenting adults to have sex in their private space according to section 377 amendment. Iyer also claims that this isn't journalism. "They had not got consent from the people whose pictures were broadcast on the channel, which is the basic ethic of journalism."

An open letter to the channel from gay rights activist Aditya Bondyopadhyay accuses producers of “hunting down” gay people for the “titillation” of viewers. It added that this was a “clear case of entrapment”. The letter asks for a public apology and warns that legal action may be taken.
  • Film maker Ram Gopal Varma
    Ram Gopal Varma
    Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...

    sent legal notices to TV9 for telecasting a defamatory programme on him. The show titled 'Ram Dhamaal Varma' was telecast on TV9 at 7PM on 23 Feb 2011.

The one hour show which also had critics on the panel lash out at RGV and his weird antics and his flop show with KSD-Appalraju, bisected his career. This well edited and fabulously written story was widely watched across the state. TV9 executive editor Arun Sagar lent his voice to this story. The show called Varma a semi intellectual and a half mad person masquerading himself as an ace director. This one hour dressing down of Varma didn't go well with him. He took offense to this show and sent legal notices to TV9 for defaming him. Ram gopal varma released a press statement confirming his legal proceedings against the channel. People don't understand why TV 9 is after only Ram Gopal Varma in film industry like Tollywood. Where success rate is 6 or 7 hits out of 250 movies a year.
"With regard to an extremely derogatory programme done by TV 9 on me titled ‘Ram Dhamaal Varma’ where they have attributed many false quotes to me, of which one example is ‘prekshakulu verri vedhavalu’, I am hereby informing that I am initiating criminal action against TV 9 for defamation with a criminal intent.

External links

TV9 channels are streamed live online.
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