Posted on 08/28/2002 11:59:13 AM PDT by aShepard
More Gay Couples on Wedding Pages
In Slow Trend, More Newspapers Are Opening Wedding Pages to Gay Couples
Wednesday August 28, 1:52 pm ET
By LISA SINGHANIA, AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- When Kristina Campbell became engaged two years ago to another woman, she submitted an announcement to her hometown newspaper in Iowa.
"I'd seen my friends' announcements run in the paper and I thought it was really nice to get this kind of support," she said.
The newspaper published her news, but first required Campbell and her partner to legally swear that they were a couple.
"I could get all indignant about the affidavit, but I know it was a big step for the paper," Campbell said.
Gay engagement and wedding announcements are still rare in most U.S newspapers, but that is slowly changing. Earlier this month, The New York Times said it would begin publishing same-sex commitment and union announcements next month.
The move by a newspaper as prominent and tradition-steeped as the Times may motivate many newspapers to do the same. But some smaller newspapers had already made similar calls.
"Basically it came down to, why wouldn't we run it?" said Randy Miller, city editor at The Hawk Eye in Burlington, Iowa, which published Campbell's announcement, along with an article explaining the newspaper's decision. "We ran no letters on it and we lost one subscriber. Clearly, this was a non-event for our readership.
Conservative groups criticize the trend, saying it elevates gay weddings to the same status as heterosexual marriage and legitimizes a sexual orientation most Americans still don't approve of. But media experts say it reflects a shift in society, which is becoming more accepting of homosexuality as same-sex couples gain legal protections and job benefits and prominent individuals, such as celebrities Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres, disclose they are gay.
"The newspaper is the one place where change should be acknowledged," said Richard Schwarzlose, a professor of journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. "It's an editor's job to keep a pretty close eye on what's going on ... and in more and more places, this kind of a union is now accepted."
Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute, a journalism training institute, noted this isn't the first time that newspapers have adopted new standards for the wedding page.
"I can imagine there was a time when it was quite controversial for any newspaper to carry a photo of a cross-racial marriage," he said. "But times change."
The Boston Globe is considering allowing gay wedding announcements, as are newspapers in areas usually associated with conservative constituencies.
"We've never had an announcement like that, but we'd probably run it on our social page, where we have all our weddings, celebrations and mission calls," said Dennis Brunner, publisher of the weekly Southern Utah News in Kanab, Utah. "I'd just say it's a fairness issue. If a man and woman wanted one, I don't know why we wouldn't allow a gay couple."
Fritzi Pikes, executive vice president of The Dallas Morning News, said she expects "we will have people who will say, 'The New York Times' is doing this, will you do it?'" So her newspaper is beginning to formulate a policy.
Most American newspapers do not -- or have not decided whether to -- run such announcements. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination or GLAAD estimates more than 100 papers out of 1,500 nationwide publish same-sex union announcements in some form. It is launching a national campaign to sway more publishers, including face-to-face meetings with newspapers in the nation's 100 biggest media markets.
"Things are beginning to change, but this is a very slow process," said John Sonego, a GLAAD spokesman.
At the Times, the announcements will run in the "Weddings/Celebrations" section. Gay couples must either have a public ceremony, enter into a legally recognized union, which is only available in Vermont, or register their partnership in localities that offer the option.
In selecting announcements, the newspaper will consider the criteria applied to heterosexual couples -- namely the newsworthiness and accomplishments of the bride and groom and their families.
Sonego said, "When the New York Times decides to print a same-sex union on the same page as an opposite-sex union, it signifies equality, fairness and that the relationship is viewed with the same level of seriousness and social responsibility."
The Washington Post, which runs wedding announcements as paid advertising, has offered gay couples the option of announcements in a "Celebrations" section for three years. So far, though, no such announcements have run. The section, which features birthdays, retirements and similar events, publishes on a different day than the wedding page.
"The commitment ceremonies do not run on the wedding page because in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., same-sex ceremonies are not recognized as legal ceremonies," Post spokeswoman Lisa Jaczko said.
Mindy Michels, 30, of Takoma Park, Md., and her female partner tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Post to run their announcement on the wedding page.
"They publish engagements in the same section as weddings, and those aren't legal ceremonies," Michels said. "The Post has published editorials saying same-sex couples shouldn't be discriminated against, yet they are promoting second-class citizenship for us."
The Best Man was Bruce's Brother Joe, while the Maiden of Honor was the other Bruce's brother James. Attending the bride was Bill, Will, and Gill, while groomsmen were Art, Arthur, and Artie.
The ring bearer was Fluffy the gerbil.
The bride and groom wore matching organza and satin tee-shirts.
The happy couple will be honeymooning in Key West.
Good people have to stand up against this garbage.
Now if we could just get God to change His order of creation............
How long is it going to be until we have the same announcements for a man that marries his goat? Can't relegate him to second-class citizenship, you know!
The tulip bulb bubble collapsed soon enough. And so too will the idea of honoring those who seek to reduce the human quest to a sick farce. The pathetic thing is that so few understand this.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Yeah right. ROFLMAO
Well you see some of the more liberal denominations of the Christian faith are well into that as we speak. Well, at least their interpretation. Still doesn't change His Word. Everything goes, no right or wrong. And with rise of the MCC (now that's one sick group), who knows what this nation will be like in 20-30 years
Public consent for their business decisions? You give your consent or withhold it when you decide to buy their paper or not. It's simple.
That is carried in the Farmers Almanac.
Or the police blotter.
Wait a minute....Aren't gay marriages illegal? I mean, I guess fruits can call it anything they want, but the fact remains that no state will issue them marriage licenses. So why would newspapers announce unions that aren't legally binding?
Do they have the legal right? Yes. Is it eithical? Not in my opinion.
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