Education: Educating the Media
The Adoption Institute has become a trusted source for the media, and, in turn, is helping to educate the public. The Adoption Institute is unique in its balanced and independent viewpoint in a field that is too often marked with controversy and partisan perspectives. We provide accurate information and up-to-the minute research to reporters, and debunk myths about adoption. For this reason, television, print and radio journalists alike increasingly rely on the Adoption Institute. For inquiries and questions, please email info@adoptioninstitute.org.
Educate the Media Program
Through the Institute's Educate the Media Program, Institute staff replaces erroneous stereotypes with accurate information and a deeper understanding about a wide range of adoption-related issues. Executive Direct Adam Pertman, a former journalist himself, frequently provides information and interviews for media worldwide. He also has conducted media workshops at conferences nationally and trainings for reporters and editors at (among others) the Denver Post and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. For more information on this program, contact Executive Director Adam Pertman at apertman@adoptioninstitute.org
In the past, the Institute also held two forums for journalists, "Adoption & the Media" in 1998 at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a "Striking a Balance: Media Reporting of Adoption Issues" in 1999.
Adoption Institute in the Media
The nation's most respected media outlets quote the Adoption Institute including the Associated Press, The New York Times, USA Today and Gannett News Service-to list but a few. Adoption Institute staff and committee members regularly contribute articles and opinion pieces to professional journals, and to international print and electronic media. We are proud of this trust, and view this work as a vital opportunity to promote public awareness. See the link to Media for a comprehensive list of Adoption Institute press releases, commentaries, and quotes in the news.
The following are some examples of efforts to educate through the media in 2005:
- The Institute was central in a nationwide campaign that ended with Fox Television's reality show "Whose Your Daddy?" being taken off the air. Pertman's and McGinnis' commentaries on the show were published in the Christian Science Monitor and the Los Angeles Times; Pertman's comments were also cited in scores of television, radio and print stories, including the New York Times, and internationally in Australia, Ireland, and Great Britain.
- The Institute released a study that drew attention to the systemic barriers that prevent children in foster care from finding permanent homes. "Listening to Parents" has been cited in numerous media, has drawn significant attention to the problem, and is now being used nationwide to improve practices.
- A study focusing on the role of adoption in the aftermath of major tragedies, "Intercountry Adoption in Emergencies," is being widely used by practitioners and the general public because its findings apply in a range of situations, including the recent devastation caused by hurricanes in the United States.
These efforts help to improve the quality of information about adoption every day, thereby enhancing knowledge, public perceptions, professional practices and, most important, people's lives.
