The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has published its annual Network Responsibility Index, a measure of representation of LGBT characters and issues, and how they are presented in mass media platforms. The 2012 Index is a reflection of the shifting dynamic in television entertainment and issue programming, and how they reflect the modern LGBT—and American—landscape.

Among broadcast networks, The CW—a joint venture between CBS and Warner Bros—earned top place, while cable networks HBO, Showtime, TNT, and ABC Family were awarded “good” ratings. Two cable networks, TBS and History (formerly the History Channel), netted failing marks for their non-satisfactory representation of LGBT people and issues. A closer look at the GLAAD Index:

• With 29 percent of its primetime programming hours considered to be LGBT-inclusive, The CW continues as the top gay-friendly (from a content perspective) broadcast network, and takes preeminent place as most racially-diverse (62 percent of impressions made by LGBT persons/ characters of color”.

• A 4 percent improvement by ABC and a coeval 5 percent decline at Fox caused the networks to “make the switch” at second and third places in percentage of inclusive hours.

• Although NBC had a net gain in LGBT-inclusive hours of 4 percent, it wasn’t enough to get it out of the closet—or basement, if you prefer, of fourth place.

• CBS remains in last place for the fourth year in a row, with just 8 percent of its primetime programming considered to be LGBT-inclusive. Worse, the numbers represent a net DROP of 2 percent since last year, taking it down from a 2011 score of “Adequate” to this year’s rating of “Failing.”

• Among cable networks, Showtime (46 percent), ABC Family (34 percent), TNT (34 percent), and HBO (33 percent) received “Good” ratings.

• Although the youth cable brand scored an “Excellent” rating just two years ago, at 23 percent MTV dropped to “Adequate” this year, along with FX (34 percent), TLC (20 percent), and USA (17 percent).

• For the fourth year in a row, both TBS (5 percent) and History (3 percent) received an Index rating of “Failing.” Although the 2012 Index acknowledges that transgender people remain underrepresented, there was encouragement on the “T” front. “The appearance of Chaz Bono on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ was a groundbreaking step in transgender representation on television this year,” noted Herndon Graddick, President of GLAAD.

“His very candid appearance on the program taught many that transgender Americans deserve respect and acceptance.

CHICAGO, IL – According to “Entertainment Weekly,” the upcoming season of “Survivor: One World” will include a gay contestant.
The show’s host, Jeff Probst, told EW that this season’s villain is gay Republican Colton Cumbie. “He doesn’t know it, but he is a full-on villain,” says Probst. “He thinks he’s the most charming guy ever. He’s a devil and I don’t even think he’s disguised.” The new season of “Survivor” premieres on CBS, Feb. 15.

Microsoft has joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of a challenge on the constitutional grounds of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The friend-of-the-court brief Microsoft, and 70 other organizations filed late last week points out the significant costs and administrative burdens DOMA imposes on employers as well as the ways DOMA interferes with employers’ efforts to promote diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace and harms their ability to attract and retain talent.

The businesses and organizations, which include Starbucks, Google, Time Warner, CBS, Nike along with several cities, filed the brief in the case of Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. US Department of Health and Human Services. It is one of two consolidated cases from Massachusetts challenging the constitutionality of DOMA.

In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. It bars the federal government from treating same-sex marriage as legal or granting gay couples federal benefits. This means that same-sex couples, who get married where same-sex marriage is legal, aren’t eligible for the benefits that come with federally recognized marriage such as filing joint federal tax returns or social security and immigration law benefits.

Same-sex marriage is only currently legal in the states of Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Washington DC and Vermont.

There are about a dozen cases around the country challenging DOMA. The joined Massachusetts cases, currently before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, are the first to reach the federal appellate level, just one step down from the U.S. Supreme Court, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

The friend-of-the-court brief said in part:

“Our enterprises are located in states, including the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that recognize the marriages of our employees and colleagues to same-sex spouses.

At the same time, we are subject to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which precludes federal recognition of these marriages.”

Companies have complained that when a same-sex couple legally gets married, it requires them to maintain two sets of books because the couple is considered married under state law but not married under federal law. The double entries, they say, ripple through human resources, payroll and benefit administration.

In a major shift in policy, earlier this year, President Obama directed the US Justice Department to stop defending DOMA and Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Congress to inform them that the Justice Department will now take the position that DOMA should be struck down as a violation of a gay couples’ right to equal protection under the law.

“The President and I have concluded that classifications based on sexual orientation warrant heightened scrutiny and that, as applied to same-sex couples legally married under state law, a crucial provision of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional,” Holder wrote.

Also earlier this year, it was rumored that Coca Cola pressured its law firm, King & Spalding, from defending DOMA in court. King & Spalding were hired by the Republican-held Congress to defend DOMA in court. However, Coca Cola is one of King & Spalding’s largest corporate clients. Coca Cola is not one of the 70 organizations which filed the brief in the U.S. Circuit Court.

The companies that joined in the friend-of-the-court brief filing before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston are:

ABT Associates, Aetna, Inc., Akamai Technologies, Inc., Alere Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, Biogen Idec, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., Inc., Boston Community Capital, Inc., Boston Medical Center Corp., Bright Horizons Children’s Centers LLC, Calvert Investments, Inc., CBS Corporation, The Chubb Corporation, Communispace Corp., Constellation Energy Group, Inc., Diageo North America, Inc., Eastern Bank Corp., Exelon Corp., FitCorp Healthcare Centers, Inc., Gammelgaden, LLC, Google Inc., Integrated Archive Systems, Inc., Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC, Levi Strauss & Co., Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., Massachusetts Envelope Company, Inc., Massachusetts Financial Services Company, Microsoft Corp., National Grid USA, Inc., Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., New England Cryogenic Center, Inc., NIKE, Inc., The Ogilvy Group, Inc., Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Partners HealthCare System, Inc., Reproductive Science Center of New England, Skyworks Solutions, Inc., Starbucks Corp., State Street Bank and Trust Co., Stonyfield Farm, Inc., Sun Life Financial (US) Services Co., Inc., Time Warner Cable, Inc., Trillium Asset Management Corp., W/S Development Associates LLC, Xerox Corp., Zipcar, Inc., Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, The Boston Foundation, Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Inc., The National Fire Protection Association, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Retailers Association of Massachusetts and by the following cities: The City of Boston, MA, The City of Cambridge, MA, The City of New York, NY.

NEW YORK – Just days after the NBC transgender incident, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” introduced a transgender character as Ferguson’s “half-sister”. Both the NBC and CBS incidents happened within days of a report by

the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality about the widespread prevalence of anti transgender discrimination.