Inclusive Journalism
As I am experiencing a sudden influx in journalists visiting my website (Hi, hello, welcome! Happy to have you!), I wanted to share good practice resources on inclusive reporting and journalism:
New Guidelines and Best Practice Checklist for Inclusive Journalism (ec.europa.eu/newsroom)
Inclusive journalism: Guidelines for journalism sensitive to diversity, equity and inclusion (International Federation of Journalists)
Disability equality in the media (UNESCO)
The Journalist’s Guide to Disability in Media: An Overview of Disability Inclusion, Accessibility, and Representation (AbilityCentral.org)
Disability-Inclusive Language in Journalism (EmpowordJournalism.com)
Quick tips
Disabled is not a bad word. Disabled people don’t “suffer” from their respective disability; they simply live with it. You don’t need to use euphemisms for “disability”. Especially “handicapped”, “differently-abled” or “special needs” are obsolete terms because we are not playing golf, disabled people don’t have special abilities that non-disabled people cannot access, and they are not ‘special’ needs, they are simply human needs.
Avoid disability as an inspiration. While the narrative may seem positive at first, it can be harmful. No person needs to “overcome their disability” to legitimize their existence. Disabled or non-disabled, every human deserves dignity and achievements are worth celebrating, with or without disabilities.
Nothing about us without us. Don’t write about disability without knowledge about it. Include disabled voices, sources, and authors in your research.
Deutschsprachige Ressourcen
Raúl Krauthausen, Aktivist für Inklusion und Barrierefreiheit, teilt regelmäßig auf LinkedIn und Instagram Beispiele für die richtige Formulierung rund ums unterschiedliche Behinderungen.
Redaktion Andererseits ist ein Paradebeispiel für inklusiven Journalismus im deutschsprachigen Raum.
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