Media Diversity Australia: Disability Reporting Handbook
Lisa Cox & Faith Valencia-Forrester
Our IDPwD guest Lisa Cox has combined her professional and academic backgrounds in media and communications with her lived experience of disability to become one of Australia’s most respected disability advocates. As a Disability Affairs Officer at Media Diversity Australia, Lisa is a media professional who is using her years of expertise to help others navigate the nuances of disability language and accessibility.
She is further committed to changing the representation of disability across mainstream popular culture, given how influential these industries are in shaping social attitudes. Lisa has written and spoken for national and international audiences and has been featured in publications such as The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, Huff Post and FOX.
Lisa was part of the team – along with Jo Kek-Pamenter, our Dignity Project Community Hub Manager and Dr Faith Valencia-Forrester, a Griffith academic and media professional – who produced the Media Diversity Australia: Disability Reporting Handbook – a resource to guide better newsroom reporting of people with disability. In designing and writing this handbook, the team made sure they lived by the golden rule – “nothing about us without us”. Whilst the MDA team encourage you to read the entire handbook, it has been designed to enable time-poor, task-rich professionals to skip to key areas to get the practical knowledge they need to better report on, and with, people with disability.
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Q&A with Lisa Cox and Faith Valencia-Forrester
"Nothing About Us Without Us" was an important facet of the project, which consisted of a team made up entirely of people with lived experience of disability. How important is it to factor in co-design and thorough consultation into projects generally?
Co-design on a project like this was absolutely essential. It goes without saying that if you want the most accurate and reliable perspectives, go directly to the source – that's true for any group of people or situation. It's frequently frustrating to see conversations being had about people with disability or discussions being undertaken about disability issues by people without disability – or those who have no lived experience with the disability sector. Additionally, because everyone experiences disability differently, it was important to have as many voices 'at the table' as we could to reflect that diversity.
What was the overriding goal of the project in terms of improving visibility, dignity, accessibility and the language in the media?
On a smaller scale, the team hopes this changes the way journalists and media professionals represent disability to the wider public. This could include how they interview a person with disability and how they present a story on disability issues.
On a larger scale, the team hopes this positive representation flows on to effect social attitudes and public perceptions towards people with disability. It is our hope that in the longer term, this also affects things like employment and inclusion for people with disability.
As a high-profile advocate for disability inclusion and diversity, particularly regarding human rights, media representation and language – what is needed to improve the dignity of people with disability in Australia?
We need 'buy-in' from industry leaders without disability too. There have already been some great examples of this, but we need to see more. There are some great advocates out there doing incredible things – but there are industry leaders out there who aren't in the disability sector, who have the potential to sway public psyche with very little effort or expense – but are actively choosing not to. I want to see them step up and not just leave this important issue as one for people like me (with disability) to advocate for.
How can people use the Disability Reporting Handbook to do this – even if they are not working in the media? How can the same information be applied generally into business, employment, and education?
This is a great resource for anyone looking to get more comfortable with disability language. Obviously, just skip over the parts about interview techniques if you're not a journalist or apply them to your specific job.
How do you work to advocate for dignity for yourself and others?
Sometimes, it feels like I live on advocacy auto-pilot. Almost daily I encounter micro-aggressions, and to protect my mental health, I have to let most slide on by. While other disability advocates have been very public about stating that they don't want to educate about disability, I see it as both a privilege and an honour that I don't take for granted.
Whenever I advocate, I try to think 'how can I make this message have the most impact and change the most lives'. Even though I might be the person in the picture, or my name might be the article, it's not really about me.
I advocate to help people without disability better understand disability and to help people with disability feel better understood, seen and heard.
While I certainly can’t speak for everyone, I can help to create resources like the Disability Reporting Handbook to help smash some of the stereotypes about disability that our media currently reinforces.
What work still needs to be done to ensure everybody is treated equally and equitably in all aspects of life in Australia?
Parliament House needs co-design!
What is next for the MDA Team?
The Disability Reporting Handbook has been published – but that definitely doesn't mean that we're finished. In some ways it is only just beginning! As a ‘living document’ the team obviously want to ensure it is as current as can be – and we value constructive collaborative feedback from the disability community to make that happen.
Do you have a closing message you would like to share with our readers?
Dignity, diversity and inclusion is everyone's responsibility. You don't have to be a disability advocate or have a particular job title to be an ally for the disability community. We can all find a way to make it part of our everyday life by choosing to do or NOT do that one little thing.
Download a PDF copy of the Disability Reporting Handbook here: https://www.mediadiversityaustralia.org/disability-reporting-handbook/
For more information, please contact:
comms@mediadiversityaustralia.org
