Lauren Gilger of KJZZ Phoenix reports on a little-known virus that pregnant women can pass on to their children and which can cause serious birth defects. Read more
journalism
Disabilities in media: Overcoming obstacles and achieving success
Broadcast journalist Dave Stevens writes for Editor & Publisher about what it’s like to be disabled and pursue a journalism career. Read more
Research shows spike in youth suicide attempts, depression after the COVID-19 pandemic began
Denise-Marie Ordway writes for The Journalist’s Resource about the rise in depression rates and suicide attempts among young people after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
The tragic deaths the British press is reluctant to cover
Jem Bartholomew writes for Columbia Journalism Review about disabled people in Britain who end up dying when they aren’t able to access government services. Read more
Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled
Joseph Shapiro of NPR details the incredible life of disability activist Judy Heumann, who helped change the way disability is seen. Read more.
NCDJ and The New York Times Renew Disability Reporting Fellowship
The New York Times and the National Center on Disability and Journalism
announced that they are, for the third year in a row, partnering on a fellowship to
develop journalists with an expertise in coverage of disability issues.
This program again will recruit an early career journalist to work at The Times for
one year as a member of the incoming New York Times Fellowship class. The
newsroom is prepared to hire another Disability Journalism Fellow in early 2024.
The Disability Journalism Fellowship is designed to address the lack of coverage
of disability issues in journalism. It will provide fellows with mentorship, a peer
network and training on covering disabilities. The position is funded through the
Ford Foundation’s philanthropic support.
The application for 2023 is now open.
The New York Times Fellowship is a one-year work program aimed at cultivating
and diversifying the next generation of journalists. Since 2019, it has trained
more than 120 participants in reporting, visual, audio and other
disciplines. Amanda Morris, the inaugural Disability Journalism Fellow, is now a
reporter covering the disability community for The Washington Post. Neelam
Bohra, the current Disability Journalism Fellow, will complete her fellowship in
May.
The National Center on Disability and Journalism is a service of the Walter
Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State
University. For over a decade at Cronkite, the center has provided support and
training for journalists and other communications professionals with the goal of
improving media coverage of disability issues and people with disabilities.
Disney Expands Costume Options For Children With Disabilities
Journalist Shaun Heasley reports on Disney adding new adaptive costumes for kids with disabilities. Read more
A Disabled Young Patient Was Sent to Get Treatment. He Was Abused Instead. And He Wasn’t the Last.
Journalists Beth Hundsdorfer and Molly Parker discovered a brutal beating of a patient and unearthed a long history of caretakers abusing disabled patients in Illinois. Read more
New York Times Names New Disability Reporting Fellow
Neelam Bohra was named as the New York Times disability reporting fellow in partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism. Neelam is immunocompromised and received a kidney transplant in 2019 from an altruistic donor who is also a journalist. She graduated this spring from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied journalism and government. Read more about her here.
We Are Here: Disability and the Journalism Industry
This documentary showcases those within the journalism field who are covering the disabled community correctly while also highlighting the struggles that still remain. NCDJ Director Kristin Gilger is interviewed. Watch here.