Accessible content

Many people think of accessibility as relating to physical accessibility only, and even then only to a limited extent. Generally, when people ask whether a space is accessible, what they mean is “can a manual wheelchair get through the front door?” (They frequently fail to consider washrooms or upper levels of buildings, or consider power wheelchairs or other devices.)

But there are many different kinds of accessibility, and one of the most important for us as journalists relates to the content we produce and publish. Ask yourself and your outlet:

• Are our audio and visual productions captioned, and do they come with transcripts that have been vetted for accuracy?
• Are our broadcasts presented with described video for blind people and people with low vision?
• Is our content accessible for screen readers?
• Do all our images have alt text and image descriptions?
• Are our social-media hashtags written in CamelCase or title case so that screen readers can read them?
• In the newsroom, do we use task-management software that is difficult or impossible to use for people with manual-dexterity impairments or visual-perceptual learning difficulties? 

Here in Ontario, the AODA lays out the web accessibility standards to which websites are expected to conform. Most broadcasters and journalistic outlets do not conform to these standards or do so inconsistently. Enforcement is difficult because it requires a disabled person to sue or to complain. That being said, these and similar standards are fairly easy to learn.

Here are some resources that I have found helpful.

Accessible social media

• Heinrich, Alexa. Accessible Social: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Inclusive Social Media Content. Revised edition, January 2024. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/l0idw72a0frgsahv2icql/Accessible-Social-PDF.pdf?rlkey=ir6by7bhb4v988q58xtv9si7b&e=5&dl=0.
• Heinrich, Alexa. The Accessible Social Video Lesson. November 3, 2022. https://www.accessible-social.com/video-lesson.
  About Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and AODA
• Level Access. WCAG Quick Tips for Content Writers. https://www.wcag.com/resource/wcag-quick-tips-for-content-writers/.
• Level Access. AODA Compliance: Digital Accessibility Requirements for Ontario. https://www.wcag.com/compliance/aoda/.
• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Accessible News Before and After Demonstration. https://www.w3.org/WAI/demos/bad/after/reports/news.html.

For Low Vision

Veronica Lewis — Veronica with Four Eyes — offers a lot on her website, much of which is intended for an educational setting, but I suggest journalists look at it anyway as it shows how many considerations go into designing accessible informational content. The examples I chose here are only two of many, but I show them because we journalists love our charts and diagrams and don’t often think about how they can create accessibility problems.

• Lewis, Veronica. Adapting Accessible Charts: Math Problems and Low Vision. https://veroniiiica.com/adapting-accessible-charts-for-low-vision/.
• Lewis, Veronica. How to Create Accessible Diagrams for Low Vision. https://veroniiiica.com/create-accessible-diagrams-for-low-vision/.

From AMI (Accessible Media Inc.)

• AMI. Media Accessibility. https://www.ami.ca/media-accessibility.
• AMI. Site Accessibility. https://www.ami.ca/site-accessibility.

Note: On any page on AMI’s website, you can also toggle the “Accessibility Preferences” button, which allows you to customize several settings to best meet your own access needs.

Miscellaneous resources about journalism and accessibility

• Amditis, Joe. “Accessibility Becomes More Than an Afterthought.” Nieman Lab. Predictions for Journalism, 2022. https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/12/accessibility-becomes-more-than-an-afterthought/.
• Amditis, Joe. “We Stop Excusing the Lack of Accessibility in News.” Nieman Lab. Predictions for Journalism, 2025. https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/we-stop-excusing-the-lack-of-accessibility-in-news/.
• Hunt, Rachel S. “Accommodating Journalists Is In — Or You’re Out.” Nieman Lab. Predictions for Journalism, 2025. https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/accommodating-journalists-is-in-or-youre-out/.
• Wise, Hannah. “Digital Accessibility Is a Cultural Shift.” Missouri School of Journalism, Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, University of Missouri. October 21, 2021. https://rjionline.org/news/digital-accessibility-is-a-cultural-shift-newsrooms-need-now/.