National Polygamy Advocate ™ Mark Henkel was interviewed for "Weekend America" on NPR, National Public Radio, Reporter Alex Cohen, on February 27, 2006. This hour-long interview occurred two weeks before the premiere of HBO’s fictional TV series, "Big Love." The reporter was looking to meet and spend time with a polygamous family. She sought to tape record numerous interactions in order to "put a human face on polygamy." Mark Henkel informed that, as friendly, positive, and polite as the reporter was in asking for this, the request was still close to what he calls a "circus act request." With that understood, he and she continued to see how they might find a way to do something for her show – especially because this was for a radio program. Knowing that the coming "Big Love" news cycle would generate massive publicity for months, the reporter was hoping to complete this project before that pending news cycle, with an intended airdate of March 11, 2006. The accelerated timeline of this project prevented it from being achieved. Nevertheless, this initial interview reveals the challenges posed for families in Unrelated Consenting Adult Polygamy (UCAP) in dealing with overall media that generally focuses more on seeking to put families on display rather than let the polygamy movement directly explain the issues affecting polygamists. The reporter was professional, honest, and sympathetic toward polygamists regarding how bad other media can be, and she certainly conducted herself with compassion. Hereby being archived for history, this important interview educates listeners of the hardships and issues of media "circus act requests" - whether by honest reporters as this individual one here or by more outright dishonest manufactured news corporations.
