Media & Disability
Guide on media & disability
Presenters
Very few disabled people currently front a programme that is not about disability. Yet the qualifications a disabled person needs to become a presenter are exactly the same as for any other person - a strong personality, a core of self-belief, and the ability to communicate well with participants and audiences.
The industry has made significant progress when it comes to putting women and (in some European countries) people of ethnic minority backgrounds on screen. Yet employing a capable disabled person as a programme anchor or reporter would not just be innovative - it could do a great deal to change attitudes towards disability. It isn’t that disabled people lack the talent, but more that producers have not given them the chance to demonstrate it. Don’t get bogged down worrying about the disability - think about the entertainment value of the show.
Mat Fraser
Disabled Actor and Presenter (UK)
“The inclusion of a disabled person on the production team can hugely broaden the base of experience in the team. It might give the producer a previously unconsidered angle on a film or series. If the
programme is specifically dealing with disability issues then the disabled team member is invaluable in terms of contacts within the community and in understanding the viewpoints of both contributors and audiences.”
Making Adjustments and Providing Support
In assessing whether a disabled candidate is the best person for a job, you need to bear in mind your obligations to make reasonable adjustments that might help overcome the effects of the disability.
Most adjustments that an employer will need to make will cost very little or nothing at all. Many disabled people develop highly effective alternative strategies to compensate for their impairment and may readily provide their own solutions to difficulties they face in the workplace.
Adjustments in the workplace would naturally be made in consultation with your disabled employee. (The BBC has its own Access Team who assess each member of staff who has a disability in order to provide appropriate support, equipment etc.) Some examples of adjustments include:
- Rearranging the furniture in your production office. This may mean making wider spaces between desks and making sure an individual’s workspace is in a specific location.
- Altering working hours to make it easier for a disabled person to travel outside rush hours.
- Providing a text-phone for a deaf person and booking a sign language interpreter for particular meetings or occasions.
- Installing voice recognition software and screen magnification on a computer for someone who is blind or partially-sighted, or providing notes on disk, email or audio-cassette.
- Adding a ramp to a building for a wheelchair user. (This might be a permanent ramp or might be a hired-in temporary ramp for a person working on a short term contract.)
- Adapting a vehicle or providing taxi transport to and from appointments.
- The needs of a disabled person who has a personal support assistant or an assistance dog should also be considered.
Helen Smith
TV Reporter, UK
“I have been partially deaf since the age of six and can only hear in one ear. I worked as a camera operator and editor for two years and am now a producer/director. I discovered a new radio aid system that allows me to directly change the stereo digital sound into
mono; not only that but I can also directly connect the hi/fi sound into my hearing aid.”