Engagement Journalism to Elevate Voices of Adoption with Amanda Kari McHugh - Ep 81

20/02/2023 47 min
Engagement Journalism to Elevate Voices of Adoption with Amanda Kari McHugh - Ep 81

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Episode Synopsis

In this week's Safe Home Podcast, Beth talks with Amanda Kari McHugh, an adoptee and an engagement journalist who is making her mark on the adoption community with her project Voices of Adoption which you can find on TikTok, Instagram, and Substack. In this project she elevates the voices of adoptees and birth mothers.  Stay tuned for ways you might be able to participate in this project!  Amanda is pursuing a double masters in journalism and engagement from grad school at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.  She hopes to be a resource to help other adoptees and also to help other journalists find good adoption data. =============== 💌 Sign up for our Unraveling Adoption email list: http://eepurl.com/hVIAVX =============== RESOURCES: Amanda's information: Voices of Adoption on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@voicesofadoption Voices of Adoption on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_voicesofadoption/ Voices of Adoption on Substack: https://voicesofadoption.substack.com/ Abortion/Adoption video collage that Amanda created: https://www.instagram.com/p/CdtUQEfj5dl/   Other resources mentioned in this episode: Academia.edu: https://www.academia.edu/ Boolean Search Terms: https://www.lifewire.com/boolean-search-terms-google-1616810 Desiree Stevens and Access Connecticut: https://www.facebook.com/AccessConnecticut/   Other Resources: Other Parents Like Me -  https://www.facebook.com/other.parents.like.me Heather Ross - Life Coaching for Parents of Addicted Teens: https://heatherrosscoaching.com/ Find a Tele-Therapist: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/online-counseling =============== Unraveling Adoption is produced and hosted by Beth Syverson Music written and performed by Joseph Nakao Email questions or comments to [email protected] Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Support Unraveling Adoption on Patreon: Patreon.com/UnravelingAdoption www.UnravelingAdoption.com =============== TIME STAMPS:   1:25 Amanda's adoption story and childhood   4:25 Kudos to Amanda's school counselor for knowing about adoption-competent therapists   5:50 Amanda's attachment style is complicated   7:09 How lack of family medical history impacts adoptees 10:00 Advocating for adoption reform and dealing with pushback 12:00 Blasting apart adoption myths, getting people angry at her 14:35 Pushback has improved Amanda's reporting 15:20 Where does Amanda find adoption data? Who keeps track of "goods transferred?" 18:50 Privacy laws - are they a farce? 20:00 The Yelp of adoption agency databases idea 20:44 Voices of Adoption on TikTok and Instagram  22:38 Objectivity is a myth but we can try to understand the other points of view 24:11 What exactly is engagement journalism?  25:00 "Domestic supply of infants" necessitated discussion about adoption and abortion  27:12 Amanda's TikTok video (audio only) 29:25 The aftermath of the viral video 32:37 How the Voices of Adoption on Substack will create community-sourced resources 35:50 Amanda's dream for collective members to get paid for their emotional labor  39:09 How to participate in Amanda's projects and join the Voices of Adoption community 41:04 The importance of moderators in social media 44:11 How we can share our stories safely and authentically to help people coming out of the fog

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