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Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Indy's Child, Revisited

So it's a new month; which means a new issue of Indy's Child is out.

They heard the complaints about their July issue loud and clear.

Kudos to Indy's Child for this public apology and explanation they put in the very next issue. Seems they meant in no way for there to be a connection with their cover shot and the article inside on prenatal testing. So at least it wasn't "on purpose;" but still kind of sad knowing that for all the people who look at it before it goes to print - no one caught it.

Anyway, here is the text of their apology:


August 01, 2006 - It was the good intentions of Indy's Child to donate the cover of our publication to Kelly's Upside Down Ball and the Indiana Down syndrome Foundation as a fundraiser for their many worthwhile endeavors.

The Indiana Down syndrome Foundation is a worthy organization and has a membership of 2,000 advocates. They had cause to e-mail their disappointment for our orientation of the July cover. The picture was excellent and showed the summer joys children with Down syndrome share with their family and friends. That was the message and feeling that Indy's Child intended to share with our readers but we inadvertently faltered. It was our maternity issue and there was a featured article on prenatal testing and the headline: "Understanding the Results is Key for Prenatal Screening Tests" was on the cover. Neither the author nor our paper meant to hurt the loving families of any children.

The response to the indiscretion was the largest in our history! Hundreds of e-mails and letters to the editor were immediately received. The families who are raising these special children were very hurt by the inference in the July article that early detection of birth disorders gives the mothers-to-be options. This was inadvertent and our author intended to suggest that it gives families time to understand and prepare for the care of children with disabilities. We never meant to hurt anyone who loves children and we want to reaffirm that Indy's Child mission is to serve all children in a positive way.

We met with the concerned families and representatives of the Indiana Down syndrome Foundation on July 12th to apologize and ask how we could work together in a positive way. They were enthusiastic about partnering with us and did accept our apology. The Foundation has a dedicated executive director, Cindy Busch. She wrote an excellent article for us this past March. She is caring and creative and has an active Board of Directors that helps the organization with at least six main activities each year.

The group of advocates meeting with us included the parents of all of the children on the cover. To each of them, we apologize and say once again, we did not intend to offend you or your families. We thank you for caring so much and look forward to helping you in all you endeavors to provide the best opportunities for your children.

Barbara Wynne is the founding publisher of Indy's Child Magazine.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is a wonderful thing that they are willing to admit their mistake. Many companies would not do that. Still I think they need some sort of sensitivity training.

CJ said...

Woo hoo! Yeah for power in numbers!!

Sara said...

Wow that is great to hear!

Anonymous said...

HOORAY!!!!!!! Love Mom

Shelley said...

Thanks for hte update - I had been wondering how it was all going - Still I feel for the families who thought the issue was not going to be directly about disability - just about wonderful children and summer fun - am glad the magazine apologised so clearly.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love your passion for educating the masses. You amaze me, mama!
Isn't it a great feeling to know that your voice was heard??

Anonymous said...

I think it is great that they came out and said they were wrong.Hopefully for now on they will be more careful before they print something so hurtful again.

Dori (Aviva's mommy) said...

What a good thing to hear, and they did the right thing. EDUCATing the public is just so important.

HUGS!

Deb said...

Great post! I'm glad they admitted their mistake. Thanks for stopping by yesterday. :)

Carole Burant said...

Says a lot for the magazine that they apologized like that...and goes to show some of these editors DO listen!! Glad it wasn't meant intentionally but like you said in your post, Michelle, it's sad that no one picked up on it before it was printed out for publication!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Wow! That's a great apology, and I hope it gets the same amount of traffic that the first issue got.

Anonymous said...

It sounds like sincere appology. I'm glad they admitted they made a mistake, even if it was unintentional. I agree with you, also though that it's sad no one caught it before it went into print.
Thanks for the update. I was wondering what was up with this too.
P.S. Nate lost his first tooth today!!
(that has nothing to do with this post; I'm just so excited for him!)

Beth said...

I'm glad for the apology, though I'm still amazed that it happened in the first place!

Beth said...

I'm glad for the apology, though I'm still amazed that it happened in the first place!

Anonymous said...

How wonderful it is that this turned out this way.

Barb said...

It's a very gracious apology. And I'm sure the editors will be a LOT more careful with what they let go to print from now on. Good for you!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the update Michelle. That is great to hear them say that they messed up and made a horribly wrong decision on their front page. Hooray!!