Call to journalists to recognise barriers that exclude

The NUJ Disabled Members’ Council calls on colleagues across the industry to ensure fair and ethical reporting on disability issues, that is informed by the lived experiences of disabled people.

Natasha Hirst, NEC Disabled Member’s rep and president of the NUJ said, “Journalists play a vital role in scrutinising public policy and holding governments to account. In a year where the Government’s track record of upholding disabled people’s human rights has once again been criticised by the UN, ethical and fair reporting is more necessary than ever.

“We are calling on the media to move away from negative rhetoric around disability, benefits and economic inactivity and to include disabled people directly in discussion of policies and issues that affect them.

“As we grapple with complex ethical issues such as the Assisted Dying Bill and the UK Government’s ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper, journalists have a responsibility to tackle harmful negative and dehumanising rhetoric and recognise the significant barriers that exclude and marginalise disabled people on a daily basis.”

The theme of International Day of Disabled People is, “amplifying the leadership of disabled people for an inclusive and sustainable future” and more needs to be done to support disabled journalists to progress their careers into leadership and decision-making roles.

NUJ reps can support disabled members to know their rights and access the support at work that they are entitled to. The NUJ provides resources to support reps and members in the workplace, as well as supporting ethical and fair reporting on disability issues.

NUJ Reporting on Disability webinar, 9^th December 6-7pm

There is still time to join us for our webinar on Reporting on Disability, register for your free ticket here.

The webinar will discuss the importance of accurate and ethical reporting for shaping narratives on disability. The webinar is for all journalists, communications professionals and anyone with an interest in how to improve written and visual representation of disability in the media. We’ll give practical tips on how to approach stories on disability issues including where to find additional context and well-informed contributors.

Other events and resources:

Meet the Disabled Members’ Council

The NUJ Disabled Members' Council runs quarterly informal meetings for members to network and find out what the union is doing to support and represent disabled members. To get direct updates, log into your online profile on the NUJ website and let us know if you identify as a disabled person. You can also select to receive NUJ Active updates.

Accessible Visual Journalism resources

If you missed out recent masterclass on Accessible Visual Journalism, you can catch up with it here. Hosted by the NUJ Disabled Members’ Council and delivered by BBC journalist and DMC vice-chair Johny Cassidy, the online masterclass shares new guidance and gives practical advice on how to write alt text for various types of images; and why it’s important for journalism to consider all audiences no matter how they access content.

BBC Rethink Disability Festival, 4^th December 2024, 10am to 4.30pm – free online tickets are still available here. The BBC Ability network invites you to be part of a transformative day dedicated to “Reclaiming the Narrative” in news and sports journalism.

Whether you're a journalist or someone eager to be more disability-aware, we’ll discuss the barriers disabled people face and explore solutions to address them.

Note on language: The UN refers to this day as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. NUJ DMC follows the social model of disability and UK disabled people's movement choice of the term “disabled people” as opposed to “persons with disabilities”. This is because it is the disabling barriers in society that limit opportunities and prevent full and equal participation. More information here

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