I managed to get myself up and going in time for the second round of workshops, which included a section on “Polyamory in the Media’s Spotlight.” This was presented by Anita Wagner and Alan M., who edits the Poly in the News blog (and who recently reminded me that he got his start writing about polyamory on Planet Waves). Now he is the leading expert on how alternate relationship and household ideas are presented in the news.
Once again, this was one of the most practical, well informed discussions I’ve ever heard at a polyamory conference. Apparently, polyamory is suddenly enjoying an excellent reputation in the news media. It’s been covered everywhere from the Washington Post to the New York Post to the New York Times to the Seattle Times to WebMD — not as a freak show but as a real subject.
The Newsweek reporter is here, doing research for a second article. This workshop documented the scope of that press and was a public relations coaching session for poly activists and participants in how to handle the reporters when they get the opportunity to give an interview.
Why exactly is polyamory so popular with the press all of a sudden? There are a few theories going around; one is that alt relationship advocates are doing their job presenting themselves as an ethics and honesty movement. Alan pointed out that “everyone loves a lover.” When any reporter interviews a person about polyamory, they get an interview with someone who is positive about relationships; positive about their partners; and expressing a position that many people feel the need to talk about and moreover to be — but don’t have the voice, the language or the guts to express. Personally, I think that the Internet is starting to show some results. Type in the word polyamory and you get 477,000 results. It’s ridiculous to claim that this is some kind of weirdo underground thing that nobody has heard of; the press is picking up the beat.