The Best

The Worst

About the Judges

 (See the 2009 award winners here.)

The Best! 

TAH: The GOP is kind of sort of insinuating Ashwin Madia (Democratic Farmer Labor nominee for US Representative from the 3rd Congressional District of Minnesota) may be gay because he's not married. The article shows the continuing significance of marital status. Here's one reason we why we still need singles week, single status can (at best) make people think you're gay or (at worst) suggest that you're unfit to be a leader or run for public office. I wonder if we've ever had an unmarried president. Quote pulled from the article: "But as history demonstrates, there is a long and unadmirable record of flogging a political opponent's unmarried status as a genteel means of throwing the race into the gutter. And since no accusation is ever actually made, the implication is not really susceptible to rebuttal. It just hangs out there with a wink."

JB: A great article discussing the politics of being single and running for office. Birkey points out that the GOP has historically used various tactics to imply that single people are homosexual, with or without evidence, which has actually impacted elections. I liked this article because it revealed some dirty tricks political leaders use to sway voters. The more we can educate people about these techniques, the more objective they can be. 1. Focused on all singles running for office. 2. Neutral about being married or single. 3. Does not address policy issues, but addresses ethics surrounding elections and politics in general.  

Buffalo News's Paula Voell  

TAH: This is a good article about the diversity within the unmarried community. Single doesn't always mean solo. Several unmarried people have live-in children, partners, parents and other people by their side. Quote pulled from the article: "Think of the divorced co-worker who's raising a teenager; your college- age granddaughter, who just had a baby and shows no inkling of getting married; the unmarried thirtysomething couple down the street with two young children, one his, one hers; and the lesbian couple whose baby was baptized at church last week. Now you see the face of family, at least some families, at this time, in this country. It's become such a large group that this week is Unmarried and Single Americans Week."  

JB: Excellent, excellent, excellent. This article not only described in detail the varying family types we see today, but adequately reviewed a new book by detailing important points the author describes. Even if someone JUST READ THIS ARTICLE, he/she would glean valuable information. This article addressed all types of couples, but focused on those with children. It was neutral on being unmarried, but I think that any article that presents being single/unmarried in a neutral light - as if it's just another way of life - is actually positive. Loved this article. 

Press-Enterprise's David Olson

TAH: Interesting article that looks at political ramifications. Quote from the article: "They need things like access to health care, access to tax benefits and other benefits that keep families strong and healthy."

JB: This article summarizes the inequities unmarried opposite-sex couples face regarding benefits that are given to married couples and even same-sex domestic partners (California). I appreciated the article's tone regarding obstacles unmarried couples face. The article gave detail and referenced specifics, but in an unbiased manner by quoting both advocates for unmarried couples and advocates for marriage. 1. Focused on opposite-sex unmarried couples, but referenced same-sex couples and married couples. 2. Neutral about being married or single. 3. Definitely addresses policy issues.

Honorable Mention: 

San Francisco Chronicle's Beth Hughes for extensively quoting AtMP staff and friends.

The Worst!

Chicago Post-Tribune's Jerry Davich

TAH: This syndicated piece appeared in several publications. Columnist Jerry Davich delivers a rather flippant discussion about singles week. I get the impression he found a topic to write about and just wrote about it – throwing in a statistic or two. He doesn't provide any new ideas and relies heavily on stereotypes. Quote pulled from the article: "If there's one thing young guys hate, it's the idea of being caged. Yet, conversely, if there's one thing young women hate it's the idea of being abandoned."

JB: I did not like this article mainly because it didn't really say anything. While it told a story about a man who was now single but had been married and divorced five times, the article had no substance. Additionally, it didn't address any issues facing singles and unmarried people, and then left the reader with the question about what this divorcee might miss from being married...?? I think it gave a negative tone to being unmarried, as if people who aren't married are missing out on something. 

Dishonorable Mention:

Parade magazine, for obsessing about marriage at the start of our week.

About the Judges

AtMP invited several members from around the nation to review a range of online articles referencing Unmarried and Single Americans Week. Twanna A. Hines of New York City and Janelle Brazington of Topeka, Kansas were up to the challenge. They haven't met each other and I haven't met either of them; from our brief conversations I'd guess that they are very different people. Nonetheless, they completely agreed about the quality of this media coverage.  Thank you, Twanna and Janelle!  

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