Replies

...I think to expect every new parent to call up the newspaper a week after they have a baby, and request the ad to be put in is not realistic.

I am an Australian. Where I live, announcements are A MATTER OF CHOICE.

BIRTH. MARRIAGE. DEATH. They do NOT appear UNLESS SOMEONE ACTUALLY LODGES THEM!

Tell me, what does a parent have to do, if there is a LIST FROM VITAL RECORDS at the foundation of ALL birth announcements, IF THEY DO NOT WISH THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO APPEAR?

And last but NOT least, DID the two Honolulu newspapers PRINT 16,500 BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS IN 1961?

Jedidah:
“I think it highly likely that a similar system was in place in Honolulu in 1961. It’s entirely possible that the family was offered the opportunity to purchase a birth ad for a small fee at the time of registration with Vital Statistics. Those who waived privacy and paid a fee were put on the list that went to the newspaper. Not all did. That would account for the discrepancy between number of babies born and number of birth notices in the paper.

In no way does this scenario suggest that the Obama ad is legit, but it does offer a reasonable explanation for how the system operated at the time.”

I agree. I gave permission for my children’s births to be announced, well over thirty years ago. They asked me at the hospital - and this is what “Fred Nerks” can’t hear me saying. I never had to pay though.

Fred Nerks:
You are an Australian? Why are you an expert on American birth announcements? You said : “Where I live, announcements are A MATTER OF CHOICE. “

Did you not notice that I said I was given a choice while I was at the hospital as to if I wanted it printed in the paper? That was MY CHOICE. See?

If they don’t want the announcement to appear.......they don’t give permission. See? It’s quite simple. Say a parent is given a little form to sign, those that sign the little form - their child’s birth is listed in the paper, those that refuse, their child’s birth is not listed in the paper. That is A CHOICE.

And no, they did not print every birth that occurred. That is another indication that some people made the choice not to give permission. Could someone call in a birth announcement? Yes. Oh, a paper may have had some requirement or another if you did, but you could.

Tell ya what. Why don’t we all try and call a few newspapers up tomorrow, and simply ask them their usual procedures for accepting the simple birth announcements? Or email - that way we have a record. Some little hometown ones, some mid-sized, and some “city” papers. Lets see what they have to say.
But lets check with the American newspapers, since WE ALREADY KNOW THE RULES IN AUSTRALIA !!!!!