1. REPORTING ON DISABILITY

2. Prepared by: Christopher KARADJOV Associate Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, California State University – Long Beach ©2013

3.  Major requirement  Typical enrollment: 20 students in 4-6 sections per semester  Exclusively journalism majors/minors (including public relations track)  Lecture + lab format with a significant writing component  In-class and online (BeachBoard) discussions play a substantial role  Various reporting exercises

4.  Disability is currently not covered adequately in this basic reporting course  Students are not comfortable when reporting on the disabled (shy and ineffective in questioning)  Lack of knowledge of issues  Poor interviewing leads to superficial stories  With some 40 million disabled Americans (15%), no media professional can afford to lack in preparation on such issues

5.  Challenging students in a safe classroom setting  Working with them to find the right balance of inquisitiveness and restraint  Helping students build their knowledge of the disabled  Alerting them to stereotypes and “easy” story lines (such as “heroism” or concentrating only on accessibility issues)

6.  1. The instructor arranges interview with a disabled person, using local resources (DSS, community referral, support groups, etc.)  2. Students spend one hour familiarizing themselves with the particular disability and its issues; particularly valuable information comes from discussion forums  3. Students spend another hour preparing questions in consultation with each other

7.  4. Students spend one hour interviewing the subject; instructor is present and offers support and guidance as needed  5. Students conclude by sharing their experiences from the interview  6. Students receive debriefing by the instructor

8.  Let the interviewee tell his/her story!  Adjust the line of questioning as needed  Preparation is very important (disability- related discussion forums are more valuable than mainstream media)  Instructor’s guidance should be minimal; the goal is to challenge students in a safe environment  Debriefing is crucial to understanding mistakes

9.  Ethical reporting requires finding the balance between intrusiveness and restraint  Know the background of the respective disability  Don’t fall for the “easy” story line (i.e., black and white narratives)  The interviewee has the final say on what is appropriate – but probe for answers  Maintain professional attitude  Listen!

10.  Training future media professionals to cover difficult subjects  Enhancing the understanding of the disabled community  Confronting stereotypes and superficiality  Developing skills that allow for ethically sound but also effective reporting  Diversifying students’ classroom experience

11.  These guidelines are only a suggestion – instructors should create their own scenarios and timelines  The main principles, however, are valid across the board  A modification of this exercise will have students interview disabled subjects on their own turf, not in classroom  Writing a story (portrait, feature) is optional but highly recommended