[kady2004]

A well done documentary on open or closed adoption would be wonderful - this is not that show when the promotions clearly state how 4 couples will be the losers (not quoted but the general gist)

I agree with the poster who wrote

"My husband works in the TV industry and one thing I have learned, the more attention the promo's get, weather negative or positive, the more people will watch. They actually are looking to stir up a hornest nest to up viewer turnout. TV stations DO aim for shock value to get more people to watch. The more upset people are about it, the more they talk, the greater the buz, the more people will tune into it."


Shock TV makes for great ratings - overall I am not sure they would get the desired ratings if this show was a "well done" documentary. There should be no losers or winners associated with this show. I cannot believe Ms. Walters would associate herself with a reality survivor esque type adoption show... It is disgusting - I for one will not be watching.... I have also emailed ABC and told them how disgusting I think their idea is.


__________________

[mom2alex]

Ugh, what a disappointment to find the turn this thread and the 20/20 special has taken. I try to have thick skin and to not be terribly over sensitive, but this is AWEFUL. Made me so sad to see that the most important thing this show will focus on is RATINGS.

[taggrr2]

So much for Barbara dealing with this well. Saw a promo last night with her standing with the 5 couples where she intoned "who will get picked ..." yada yada yada. Definitely disheartening.

[jewelewis]

DISGUSTING!!! Thats all I have to say about it. I hope we are all pleasantly surprised and it turns out to be a documentary on open adoptions and they are just using advertising schemes. Probably not but we can hope. Right?

[jenkas1]

I am confused. Have any of you seen the previews for this show? I saw it last night and was horrified. "Five couples desperate to adopt compete to win this child" was what the ad stated. I think it is making a mockery of the adoption process and exploiting that poor child for ratings. A child is not "won" and making it a competition is sick. Adoption is a beautiful, courageous life changing gift and it should be treated with more dignity in my opinion.
Jen

[stacyone]

Ditto what everyone else has said... just... yuck.

[3girls1boy]

Do the "losing" couples get a nice consolation prize- like a case of Eskimo pies?

I feel bad we were all so excited to something about open adoption covered by the media and it had to get sensationlized. I am going to watch it. I really want to see if the promotions match the show. I was really hoping for something positive. Right now it feels like Maury Povich when he used to do the "who is the daddy" and took the DNA from the baby and tried to match it to a couple of potential fathers and had America watch. I was angry, now I am sad.
Lisa

[icunurse]

I emailed 20/20 and told them how hard it is for society to understand adoption....how emotional it is for everyone involved and how much thought and effort goes into a placement decision. I stated how I find myself having to explain a lot about the adoption process, particularly open adoption, and even having to defend a birthparents love for their child (ie. they can't really love them if they "just give them away"). I also stated how people get their info from televised media and trust 20/20 and Barbara Walters and, while I am hoping for the best, the promos feed into society's preconceived notions that there's an adoption "game" (the people who have money, are young, whatever..."win") and that adoptive parents are desperate (desperate enough to be interviewed by a 16 y.o. on national television).
My questions...how can Barbara Walters be so insensitive to a topic so close to her heart? How do you think the child will feel when he/she see's the promos and shows later on in life?
Shame on them!

[joyryd911]

When I first heard the promos for the ABC-TV's program on Open Adoption, I was horrified -- then saw all the positive posts regarding the program and became more horrified. Now that more information has gotten out, I feel so much better knowing that others see what a travesty this program is for the promotion of adoption.

Exploitation is right -- especially of the MAJOR minor, the baby. Nothing could be more insensitive. Did anyone involved consider the impact on the child in the future? Like adoptive kids don't have enough to contend with???

And the fact that the birthmom, her parents, the prospective parents, Barbara Walters, A Child is Waiting, all allowed this to happen says that none of them has a clue as to how important the portrayal of adoption is in the media. And how a program like this is more apt to send even more people seeking children internationally and away from domestic open adoptions by seeing this isolated situation as a template for all domestic open adoptions.

It reminds me of an adoption-related article I read recently about the formulas one must consider in the decision-making process involved in adoption. The factors the author presented covered the birthmom, the birthfather, money, time, the adoptive parents, etc. But when I reached the end of the article I realized one factor had been left out -- not once was the child even mentioned for consideration.

Shame on 20/20 and all involved in this program. Seems like a pretty hefty oversight if we all stop considering the "child" factor in our adoption-related decisions.

[3girls1boy]

Check out the other 20/20 threads in general forum

A child is waiting- the adoption agency involved in the piece has pulled the 20/20 ad from their website, instead there is a letter from the directors distancing themselves from the promotion of the show. ABC's website has a long description of the show that still uses some disturbing language- about competitions and winning, losing, etc. It makes me glad that some changes have been made- that at least we had some effect. However last night during NYPD Blue my mom saw an ad for 20/20 and it was still offensive. There have also been editorials from the NY Times and Chicago papers- some on other thread of this forum. Talk raidio is also all over it.
Lisa

[wlbooklady]

I just read some replies on another adoption message board complaining about the advertising for this episode: it made it look like a reality show in which the potential adoptive parents were competing to "win" the baby! It may still be a good show, it's just a shame the TV jerks had to advertise it that way.

[joyryd911]

In regards to my previous post, I stated (in my haste), "Exploitation is right" I hope everyone understands I was agreeing with the person who described the program as exploitive, not that I was condoning exploitation. Exploitation --especially this exploitation -- is horribly wrong. Sorry -- will be more careful with my references in the future.

[AMom2Two]

I thought I would share this post here. Our adoption agency sent this urgent email out to all of it's clients, past and future. Here is their opinion....

***************************

On Friday, April 30th, ABC is airing a 20/20 special on Open
Adoption.

From the promos for this show it appears that 20/20 is putting on a game show with 5 families and a baby as the prize. XXX (name not given according to forum guidelines) is appalled that this is the way they decided to portray open adoption.

We have contacted our PR firm and are trying to get a tie in story
on the evening news or on the morning news shows. We are hoping that this will counteract any negative image the media will portray with regard to open adoption. We encourage families to contact their ABC affiliates and voice their dismay at the way this show is portraying open adoption. However, we do not think that ABC will pull the show seeing how its sweeps month.

XXX has also been in contact with the Evan B Donaldson Institute and have talked to Adam Pertman the Executive Director there in the hopes of getting a more national effort behind this. He has informed us that he is reviewing a copy of the show and will be responding in some form. We will keep you informed of what is happening with this.

*****************
I love this agency we are using...Go get them!!!

[Support2Adopt]

I saw a promo tonight and it was much different than what has been previously described. Maybe everyone's voices is making a difference.
JJ

[bromanchik]

Barbara Walters was on the View yesterday, furiously back pedaling. However, at the end she still said she does not believe in open adoption and then told a "very funny" story about how her daughter does not want to search for her "biological mother". Very touching. So much for unbiased reporting.