The politics and ethics of lesbian and gay “wedding”; announcements in newspapers

Abstract

The decision to run or not run lesbian and gay commitment announcements—or “wedding”; announcements—in newspapers is inherently political, involving choices about how to represent the world and whose definitions to use. I begin by examining oppression, media representations of lesbians and gays, and the politics of visibility. Then, drawing on interviews with editors at papers that run the announcements, I point out the limitations of basing a decision to run the announcements on the ideology of objectivity. While supporting that decision, I argue that journalists should more openly address the politics of newsmaking. The retreat to objectivity, while sometimes a good short‐term strategy for deflecting critics, is counterproductive and dishonest. Journalists should make a commitment to a liberatory politics that explicitly works for people who are oppressed.