Reporting disability

People with disabilities tend to receive little coverage in the Australian media. Coverage, when it does occur, is often misguided, and helps to perpetuate negative stereotypes. This paper provides the findings of a small pilot study into the coverage of disability in the Adelaide Advertiser, a large daily newspaper, as a lead-in to a major national study. The study found – not surprisingly – that considerable work is required to help journalists understand disability and the potential impact of the words they use when writing about disability.