How to make moments in history accessible for all audiences

Capturing historic moments for everyone

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How we ensure an equitable experience for all audiences

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One of the main roles of a journalist is to capture moments in history. To be there to record a snapshot in time. Another role however is to try and give people information to let them decipher things for themselves.

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Arguably one of the most iconic images of the last few years is that photo of ?Donald Trump following an assassination attempt at a Republican rally in Pennsylvania on 13 July. ??That photo will no doubt play a pivotal role in the upcoming US presidential election and will adorn T shirts and posters and a myriad of other pieces of ?memorabilia for years to come, but how do we ensure that all audiences get to experience that image? ??

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This piece by Pointer writer Tom Jones gives us the story behind the powerful photo of Trump that could change the country and the moments immediately after the shooting and how Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci captured the moment. It’s a great read and a fantastic insight into the instincts of many journalists. What I’m really keen to explore though is the accessibility of such an iconic image. How do we ensure everyone has an equitable experience and access to something which is sure to become part of the American story?

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This piece from The New Yorker talking about the seismic importance of the image is really interesting. The alt text with the photo is simply “Donald Trump holding up his fist”. Not really that great. The main piece goes on however to describe the image in great detail.

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This? piece in The New York Times ?focuses on a similar photo taken by NYT photographer Doug Mills at the rally. The alt text here is “Donald Trump, a line of bright blood across his face, raises his fist toward a crowd as four people in dark suits usher him off a stage”. ?Quite a bit better.

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This BBC News piece has the alt text of the image as “Donald Trump pumps his fist in the air, moments after an assassination attempt on him on 13 July 2024”. ??Again not bad but definitely more detail needed. Disappointing as well that the alt text description is virtually the same as the caption. No no no.

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I’m sure ?there’s loads of other examples of really good and really terrible alt text descriptions for the photos from that day. My point though is that everyone no matter how they’re accessing journalistic digital content needs to have an equitable experience. ??Photographers and subs should consider how their images are going to be accessed by different audiences and react accordingly.

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Writing alt text is easy ?but writing good alt text can be hard

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I’ve shared a few times in this newsletter the BBC guidance ?on How to write text descriptions for news articles. I’m really pleased to say it’s starting to have an impact on some of the text descriptions we’re seeing in images. The training is on hold for the summer but will be ramping up again after the holidays where it’ll become mandatory for all BBC digital journalists. ??

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This government blog on alternative text in action by Katherine Moonan and Samantha Merrett is also really interesting and well worth? a read. I’m particularly interested in the thoughts around including the alt text of the image in the main body of the piece so everyone can benefit from a decent description. This could be brilliant for loads of different people and not just blind or visually impaired audiences. People with different cognitive conditions for example. ??Please do take the time to read the full piece.

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Another accessibility tool for different audiences is audio description. I’d argue journalism has a bit of an odd relationship with AD ??in that it’s not always possible to include a decent audio description of quick turnaround news pieces. I’d also argue though that more could and should be done in the production process to ensure equitable experiences for all audiences. The RNIB are keen to here people’s thoughts and have this survey on audio description ?which should take about twenty minutes or so to complete. ?Do take the time if you can.

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Recruiting for inclusion

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One of the biggest levers we can pull to increase accessibility in journalism is to actually employ people with real lived experience of different accessibility requirements. We know though that there’s a real disability deficit at senior decision making levels with the journalism industry which means accessibility isn’t always taken as seriously as it should be. Inclusive Journalism Cymru commissioned ?the Institute? of Welsh Affairs ?to explore how Recruiting for inclusion in the media industry can help bring more diversity into a sector crying out for it. The report claims however that better recruitment is only part of the solution and that media organisations can use the findings as a way to kickstart a conversation about better and more equitable experiences.

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Marine Furet , the IWA’s Media and Communications Officer and editor of?the welsh agenda, who wrote the guide based on conversations held at the Inclusive Media Lab with journalists, said:?‘We hope this guide can be a practical resource but also a conversation starter about working culture in journalism and media organisations at large. Change cannot simply come from hiring ‘diverse’ candidates, a tokenising approach that puts unfair pressure on recruits. This guide is a reminder of all the steps employers?can?take to make their newsrooms more inclusive spaces.’

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‘True authenticity embraces the messy, scrappy, and the imperfect’

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I love this phrase. If we’re talking about real representation and inclusion we need to embrace that philosophy. This blog by Charlotte Armstrong uses it as a rallying cry to ????call for a new framework? for disability representation. It’s time we all stopped using the cliched and tired ?stereotypical tropes of disability and started using real representation of disability.

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If you’re a wheelchair user who’s also an expert on immigration law, ?or you’re a deaf historian with a keen interest in Victorian architecture then why not add your details to the BBC's 50:50 database . It’s only by pushing true and authentic representation that we’ll achieve any real change. We’re all different and made up of multiple facets. That’s what we need to represent across the journalism industry. Do it. Do it now.

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A11y and Gen AI

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I’ve spoken a lot in previous editions of Journalism A11y on how I think gen AI is going to have an impact on the accessibility of journalism and how it can be used to reach audiences with differing accessibility needs. The dream team of Joe Devon and Eamon McErlean have just started a new podcast looking at the possibilities the technology can bring to accessibility across the board. In this first episode ???they talk to the CEO of Be My Eyes Michael Buckley about how ?the partnership between Be My Eyes and OpenAI came about and where Mike thinks the future will be for gen AI and accessibility. Spoiler alert, wearables, and live real time video description. Fascinating as well to hear Mike talk about the 19,000 strong beta testers for the Be My AI functionality which he reckons is the biggest user testing cohort of blind and VI people anywhere in the world. All about building with and not for. Really looking forward to future episodes. ?

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That’s all for this edition of Journalism A11y. I’m blown away really by the support I’ve got for the newsletter. If you know anyone who might be interested or if you’ve got something to share please do get in touch at [email protected].

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Thanks loads for now and talk soon

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Johny

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