FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathryn Creedy, Institute for Adoption Information, 802-442-2845
Jan King, Inter-national Adoption Alliance, 615-890-3507

INSTITUTE FOR ADOPTION INFORMATION, INTER-NATIONAL ADOPTION ALLIANCE PARTNER ON PROVIDING MEDIA REVIEWS

The Institute for Adoption Information and Inter-national Adoption Alliance have formed a partnership to provide adoption triad members with timely reviews of film, television and other entertainment programming containing adoption-related themes.

"Adoption and other family themes are popular in news and entertainment media, some of which can be highly problematic for adoptees as well as adoptive and birth families," said Jan King of Inter-national Adoption Alliance, a national adoption support and advocacy organization. "Consequently, we need to know whether or not to expose our families to this programming. While there are children who have no problem with this content, there are many who are troubled by it. At the very least, we should know about it so we can be prepared should questions arise. There are many important issues in adoption today, to be able to provide this service is just one of the many contributions we can make."

Those wishing to post reviews should visit the Inter-national Adoption Alliance web site (www.i-a-a.org), click on Media Reviews, and use the prompts to post opinions. To read the reviews go to www.celebrateadoption.org and click on Media Reviews. The two sites will be linked.

"Much of this programming reinforces negative stereotyping of adoption, which contradicts what we teach our children," said Kathryn Creedy, executive director of the Institute for Adoption Information, a national non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding of adoption. "What we want is for programs to be accurate, balanced and to inform, not exploit. This is not just about adoptees and adoptive families, this also affects birth parents, who are, perhaps, the most misunderstood in this programming. Consequently, this will help us decide whether or not we want to support it with our hard-earned dollars. We have devised a method by which those wishing to voice an opinion can post it. We hope to attract both those who dislike the content and those who don't have a problem with it so it is well balanced."

The reviews complement an Institute for Adoption Information program, which asks those touched by adoption to provide feedback to programmers who use adoption as a theme in news and entertainment media. It is also the best way to reinforce Inter-national Adoption Alliance's theme that separately we have a story to tell but together we can make our voices heard. The Institute for Adoption Information's web site lists the contact information for that media on its Kudos & Complaints page which urges people to provide rational critiques as well as praise for what it done right such as Adoption on The Hallmark Channel and the Dave Thomas Foundation's A Home for the Holidays aired each holiday season.

"We know we cannot eliminate adoption-related programming," said Creedy. "After all, adoptive and other non-traditional families are different and, for that reason they make good copy, good drama and good gossip. Therefore it is up to us to educate programmers about the inaccuracy of their negative stereotyping as well as the number of people affected by it. The more people who respond, the more programmers will understand that more than one third of the nation is touched by adoption within their immediate families and we object to being portrayed inaccurately. It is our belief that discussing the issues surrounding these stereotypes will enhance rather than detract from the story and provide something for viewers or readers to think about."