Spring Forum

SILHA CENTER SPRING FORUM

The event focused on the ethical considerations of covering and depicting people with disabilities.

BY SCOTT MEMMEL

DURING THE 2022 SILHA CENTER SPRING ETHICS FORUM, “ONE IN FOUR: THE ETHICS OF COVERING PEOPLE WITH

DISABILITIES,” on April 4, 2022, award-winning journalist Jane McClure, editor of Access Press, which describes itself as “the upper Midwest’s disability community news source,” contended that “writing about disability is complicated. It requires a lot of sensitivity and that’s “We people with a must for any form of journalism that disabilities talk about involves people, which is what most of us write about. And if you’re in doubt ableism in the same about how to refer to a person, ask context as we talk about that person, and if you can’t ask the person, don’t avoid writing about disequity, social justice, and ability, just use your judgment. Do your inclusion. . . . When we best. Be fair, and think, too, about the stories that aren’t getting covered.” talk about coverage of The Silha Spring Forum attracted more than 80 attendees from the disability issues and of United States and abroad, including coverage of people with members of the media, Hubbard School students and faculty, and disabilities themselves, the general public. The forum panel, we need to keep ableism consisting of McClure and three other speakers, was sponsored by at the forefront.” the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law and the Minnesota-Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) as a virtual webinar. McClure began her presentation by discussing “ableism,” which she defined as “discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities. It’s based on the belief that people with so-called ‘typical abilities’ are superior to those of us with disabilities, including people like me. [It] is a lot like sexism and racism. It categorizes entire groups of people [as] lesser, inferior beings, and it includes negative and harmful stereotypes.” McClure continued, “We people with disabilities talk about ableism in the same context as we talk about equity, social justice, and inclusion. . . . When we talk about coverage of disability issues and of coverage of people with disabilities themselves, we need to keep ableism at the forefront.”

McClure turned to several considerations the media face, including that “when we refer to the disability community, it’s by no means a monolith. There [are] thousands of disabilities [and] tons of advocacy groups and self-advocates.” McClure also discussed the differences between “person- or people-first language” and “identity-first language.” Person-first language, according to McClure, refers to “language that puts a person before their diagnosis, such as being a person with a disability or disabilities.” Identity-first language refers to “language that leads with the disability, as in ‘John is an autistic man.’”

McClure cited guidelines developed by the National Center on Disability and Journalism (NCDJ), which is headquartered at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. In its “Disability Language Style Guide,” the NCDJ offers several basic guidelines, including that journalists should “[r]efer to a disability only when it’s relevant to the story and, when possible, confirm the diagnosis with a reputable source, such as a medical professional or other licensed professional.” The guidelines also state that “[w]hen possible, ask sources how they would like to be described. If the source is not available or unable to communicate, ask a trusted family member, advocate, medical professional or relevant organization that represents people with disabilities.” The guidelines further recommend being “sensitive when using words like ‘disorder,’ ‘impairment,’ ‘abnormality’ and ‘special’ to describe the nature of a disability. The word ‘condition’ is often a good substitute that avoids judgment. But note that there is no universal agreement on the use of these terms—not even close.

Following McClure’s presentation, the other panelists spoke, including Hubbard School Senior Fellow Scott Libin, Peter Tressel, a creative director with 38 years of experience at advertising agencies around Minneapolis, and Sophia Schmaltz, a first-year student with dyslexia. There was a Q&A portion as well.

A video of the entire webinar can be found on the Silha Center YouTube’s page. Silha Center activities, including the Silha Forum, are made possible by a generous endowment from the late Otto and Helen Silha.