The Fargo Forum’s Gay Marriage Publicity Stunt
Judging from the Fargo Forum’s website, and their Twitter/Facebook accounts, you’d think their policy on gay marriage announcements was the most important news story in the state right now. After their rejection of a gay couple’s marriage announcement (they are to be married legally in New York), the Forum’s management called the couple in for a sit-down.
Call it the Forum’s version of Obama’s “teachable moment.”
But then, after making a huge stink about it, the newspaper didn’t even change their policy. They will continue refusing gay marriage announcements, but not at all of their media properties. Apparently the Duluth News-Tribune (a Forum Communications property) will continue to publish gay marriage announcements as they always have. Which makes you wonder, what was all the fuss about?
The answer, I think, was that the Forum wanted some attention. Their initial rejection of the announcement drew some national attention, and so they decided to drag it out a bit, but ultimately stick to their guns. Kind of like when a sweetly earnest review of the local Olive Garden launched Forum Communications columnist Marilyn Haggerty went viral and launched her into internet stardom. Forum Communications milked it for weeks.
This is a journalism enterprise that can’t muster the gumption to provide hard-hitting coverage of the state’s troubled higher education system, or staff any more than one reporter at the state capitol, but they’re pretty good at self-indulgent navel gazing.
Plus, everything else aside, shame on the Forum for not treating gays with the same dignity as other couples.
Sure, sure, some are threatening to cancel subscriptions and the like, but given the de facto monopoly Forum Communications has on media, particularly in the Fargo market, the boycotts won’t last long or have much of an impact.
Tags: Asshats, fargo forum, gay marriage, North Dakota News
