To serve the public, newsrooms must be accessible. Inclusion shapes how you hire staff, produce content, and connect with and inform your entire audience.
This article is based on an extract from the UNESCO’s Disability Equality in the Media report, which concludes that disability equality must be built into the foundation of all news production and management processes, rather than being added as an afterthought. The manual was released under the Creative Commons BY-SA licence. Media Helping Media has studied the report and extracted the following.
Why this matters to your newsroom
To serve the public, newsrooms must be accessible. Inclusion shapes how you hire staff, produce content, and connect with and inform your entire audience.
About 16% of the world’s population, some 1.3 billion people, live with a disability. UNESCO describes them as one of the most marginalised groups in society. They are often missing from news coverage, and when they do appear, they are frequently framed through stereotype.
That is a problem for audiences, who do not get the full picture. It is also a problem for journalism. A newsroom that includes no disabled people will struggle to spot its own areas where change is needed.
There is a commercial case too. The manual describes disabled people as a large, underserved audience. News organisations that serve them well can build loyalty and open up new revenue.
It helps to separate two ideas. Accessibility is about whether your content and workplace can be used by as many people as possible. Inclusion is about whether people feel welcome, valued and able to take part. A newsroom needs both.
News Output
In another article on this site we look at the human rights approach to covering disability in mainstream news.
How to make a newsroom inclusive
To build a truly accessible organisation, news managers must address both the physical workplace and the digital environment. The manual stresses that most barriers are organisational and attitudinal, not just technical. Software alone will not fix them.
Five actions for managers and editors
1. Revise your recruitment
Rewrite job adverts to focus on essential skills, not arbitrary physical requirements. Check each requirement against the real demands of the job. The manual gives the driving licence as an example. It is a common newsroom requirement and it can put off disabled candidates who would not need to drive to do the work.
Then make the process itself accessible from the first contact:
- Say in the advert that reasonable adjustments are available and that hiring will be fair.
- Offer application forms in accessible formats.
- Tell hiring managers what adjustments they can offer at interview.
- Look for candidates through local disability organisations as well as the usual job boards.
- Judge candidates on their skills, not on perceived limits. Remember that disabled candidates may have taken less traditional routes into journalism.
The reasoning is simple. The manual notes that qualified disabled journalists may not apply because they expect barriers in the process or in the job. Assumptions about the fast pace of news can also put people off. You have to show them they are welcome before they will apply.
2. Normalise reasonable adjustments
Ensure that disabled staff can request support, such as specialised equipment or flexible working, without fear, delay or stigma.
Adjustments can be physical, such as ramps and accessible toilets. They can be technical, such as screen readers and voice recognition software. They can also be about working practice, such as remote working, flexible hours, sign language interpreters and accessible documents.
How you handle requests matters as much as what you agree. The manual suggests:
- Let staff ask at any time, and let managers ask on their behalf.
- Tell the person the outcome.
- If you cannot do exactly what was asked, talk to them and find an alternative.
- Keep an inventory of tools and services, and set aside a budget for them.
Be honest about limits. The UN definition says adjustments should not impose a disproportionate burden on the employer. That is a reason to keep talking, not a reason to say no. The manual also suggests a confidential way for staff to raise problems, so barriers surface early.
3. Build accessibility into production
Accessibility is cheaper and more effective when planned from the start. Retrofitting subtitles or transcripts to finished work takes longer and often gets skipped.
Ensure your digital, print and broadcast teams are trained in creating subtitles, transcripts and screen-reader-friendly content. Put it in your standard checklist, and give it a budget for software, tools and training. The manual points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as the technical standard for web content.
Some specifics from the manual:
- Transcripts should name the speakers and note sound effects and music, not just record the words.
- If third-party platforms carry your video, check they carry your captions too.
- Test sites with automated tools and by hand, and ask disabled users for feedback.
- Name someone as your digital accessibility lead. Norway’s public broadcaster NRK has hired an accessibility manager and works with a blind digital accessibility expert.
4. Diversify your decision-makers
Include disabled voices in leadership roles. Decisions on inclusive policy are far more effective when informed by the lived experience of your own staff.
The manual makes the point in editorial terms. A diverse team, including disabled staff, is better placed to spot the blind spots and biases in coverage. Disabled staff should be heard on general editorial decisions, not only on disability stories.
Putting people in leadership is not enough on its own. The manual recommends:
- A named person or team in charge of inclusion, reporting to senior management.
- Mentoring and career development, so disabled staff can reach senior roles.
- Staff networks. The BBC runs two, for disabled and neurodivergent colleagues.
5. Train for awareness
Run workshops on disability equality and accessible communication for all staff. This removes fear and creates a culture where inclusivity is a professional standard, not a special project.
Fear is a real issue. The manual says journalists often worry about causing offence or embarrassing themselves when interviewing disabled people. It suggests this may help explain why disability is so thinly covered. Good training covers practical points: use of language, how to arrange an interview, and the simple step of asking people how they want to be described.
Build it into onboarding and appraisals, so it is not left to the keen few. Include hiring managers and HR, and cover freelancers as well as staff.
A note for producers
Think about your workflow. Before you publish, check:
- Is your website readable by screen readers, and can it be used with a keyboard alone?
- Do your videos have accurate captions?
- Does your audio content include transcripts?
- Do images have alt text, and is the colour contrast strong enough?
Automatic captioning tools are a useful start, but a person should check the result, especially names and technical terms.
The manual calls fair coverage of disabled people only half the job. The content must also be accessible to them. If it is not, you are effectively barring a large part of the public from your journalism.
Getting started
You do not need to do everything at once. Pick one action and set a date. The manual recommends setting measurable targets and building in a way to review progress and collect feedback.
Review your job adverts. Test your website with a screen reader. Ask disabled colleagues what would make their work easier. Then move on to the next step.
