Facing the Media: Is Your Family Ready? Jonathan Kipp, Alternative Family Magazine
In the four years since gay dads Jon and Michael Galluccio sued the state of New Jersey for the right to adopt, the media spotlight on GLBT families has grown steadily brighter. This attention is driving the growing public acceptance of gay and lesbian families, and has propelled family issues to the forefront of the GLBT agenda, writes Jonathan Kipp in Alternative Family Magazine. Kipp traces the evolution of the media's portrayal of gay families -- in the name of 'balance,' early stories about the Galluccio family nearly always included a negative comment from the religious right. Then the dads began turning down interview requests unless the reporters promised not to include such counter-arguments. 'After all,' writes Kipp, 'was every story about an African-American countered with a statement from the KKK?' In a helpful sidebar to Kipp's piece, GLBT activist and media strategist Cathy Renna gives gay and lesbian parents some helpful tips on what to say or not say when the media comes knocking.
--Leif Utne
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