where we begin:
According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 28.7% U.S. adults identify as disabled and about 50% live with chronic illness.
That’s a lot.
About 53 million U.S. adults care for a disabled spouse, elderly parent,
relative, or child.
Disabled people, people with chronic illness, and caregivers represents all races, ethnicities, genders, religions, and regions of the country.
what does this
mean for media?
Media issues
• Most news outlets are built for readers, listeners, or viewers — not all three. They rarely consider alternative modes of communication.
• Learning differences, sensory issues, or other accessibility needs are regulrly overlooked.
Technology issues
• 96% of online home pages failed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
• The average web page has 56 accessibility errors.
• 78% of news sources are behind a paywall, turning 67% of Americans who are extremely interested in news to free news on the web.
Employment issues
• Disabled people make up more than a quarter of the U.S. population, but occupy only 7.8 percent of media jobs.
• The journalism industry is inaccessible and not diverse. It’s low-salaried and often inflexible, built around traditional office hours, requires in-office work, and overtime.
• The industry is overwhemingly male and doesn’t even survey for people with disabilities.
• Technology policies are’t ready to handle people who use adaptive communication devices or technology that uses AI.
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Accessibility-first news
• Use universal design in web layout and the best digital accessibility practices.
• Use specific accessible modes (ASL, closed captioning, audio description, Easy English pullout, etc).
• Keep news standards in line with ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists and practices taught by Trusting News and the Solutions Journalism Network.
And accessibility-first employment
• EAPM jobs for journalists, editors, accessibility staff, and operations staff will be open to all qualified people to apply regardless of disability, chronic illness, or demands of being a caregiver.
• Jobs will be flexible, fully benefited, work-from-almost-anywhere and allow for a diverse team of workers from the newsroom to the operations side of the organization.
• Accessibility also makes financial sense for both employees and consumers. A study from Harvard Business Review noted that diverse workplaces had higher revenue linked to innovation and higher gross earnings.
• A National Business and Disability survey from The Viscardi Center and Cygnal found 73% of consumers will choose services from a company or organization if they know it employs individuals with disabilities.
how is this different?
Accessibility-first news checks the boxes
• Serves disabled and nondisabled people alike.
• Helps people stay informed on current events without assistance, leading to empowerment, a sense of equality and inclusion in the community, and greater civic engagement.
• Offering multiple formats of the same news story in one setting is similar to the way Gen Z news consumers expressed that they want news – personalized or customized, easy to read, and without barriers to access.
• Donation and grant funded so news is never behind a paywall.
• Nonprofit public media model creates partnership opportunities with other news outlets.