disability


Where are the disabled journalists?


Lucinda Borrell finds persistent barriers to working in the media


I


’ve been very lucky that my disability hasn’t stopped me,” says Alex Brooker, co-host of Channel 4’s topical


news programme The Last Leg. Brooker became a household name in 2012 after being recruited as part of Channel 4’s half a million pound recruitment drive to find disabled journalistic talent to cover the Paralympic Games. However, Brooker admits originally being nervous of applying for the scheme. “Before I applied to Channel 4, I was reluctant to do it because I thought there must be a good reason why so few disabled people are on TV.” In the four years since 2012,


organisations such as the BBC have held recruitment drives to hire disabled journalists. Despite this, the media is still facing criticism over a lack of workplace diversity in this area. According to a Trades Union


Congress report published last summer, only 48 per cent of disabled people of working age in all industries are in employment, compared to 78 per cent of their able-bodied counterparts. On seeing this report, the NUJ admitted that the media has “proportionately less disabled people working within it” – so where is journalism going wrong? Kate Monaghan, managing editor at Markthree Media, believes the key problems are the industry’s failure to understand the precise nature of the


08 | theJournalist


barriers facing disabled journalists and the benefits that diversity can bring to the quality of reporting. She says: “I think encouraging


disabled people in the workplace right now is very hit and miss. The BBC are doing what they can to encourage disabled journalists and they are doing a brilliant job, as is Channel 4. But employees with disabilities often need more flexible working hours and additional support – that is something that scares employers when they need to be put in place. “People do need to have more of an understanding of the benefits. You need to have disabled people writing about all sorts of issues – having them also provide insight on disability issues is incredibly important. Schemes are really good, but they should not just stop at entry level. There needs to be more schemes that assist the disabled to get higher and higher up the ladder.” Brooker agrees that disability


awareness is key, and recognises that he has been fortunate to work for employers that deserve credit for their positive attitudes to staff with disabilities. He says: “In my experience at the Press Association, they looked after me well, as have Channel 4. I fully appreciate what a big risk they took putting new presenters in the limelight for such a big event. That faith has given me the career I have now. “ However, negative attitudes remain. One journalist, who is involved in a legal


dispute with their employer over unfair dismissal due to issues connected to their disability, says: “At one organisation that I worked for regularly, the chairman froze me out because my disability meant I wasn’t able to attend all meetings. I told the chairman in advance about my disability and trusted that he would respect the condition, but that didn’t happen.” Freelancing can bring its own issues.


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I think encouraging disabled people in the workplace right now is very hit and miss


For example, many editors have no qualms about putting pressure on people with disabilities to take on work as those people may fear they will not be commissioned again. One journalist reports problems with a national newspaper: “I worked at one paper where I did freelance shifts. As my condition changes, having worked a lot of shifts over a good few months, there was a period when I couldn’t make myself too available due to medical problems. Since then, the editor hasn’t offered any more shifts, citing a need for freelances who are more flexible to do the work.” The success of broadcasters such as


Brooker, Sophie Morgan and JJ Chalmers, recruited in Channel 4’s 2012 talent search, demonstrates there are certainly benefits from a more diverse media. Yet, four years on, the figures still make for grim reading – demonstrating that the industry as a whole is not working fast enough to ensure that recruiting staff with disabilities is the norm.


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