What is Reframing Disability?
It’s a fortnightly dispatch simplifying disability inclusion for content creators, information that I hope will help you rethink and reframe your storytelling, a little.
Who is it for?
Anyone interested in disability-inclusive approaches and storytelling. Though, I think there are some professionals this newsletter will particularly speak to.
Journalists, Storytellers, Bloggers & Influencers: Spot fresh ideas to cover, new voices to follow and interview, and angles to consider for reporting and storytelling.
Communications teams: Look out for references and guidance on language and accessibility.
Policymakers: Identify gaps in disability inclusion and accessibility with ways to bridge them.
Newsroom staff and organisation managers: Find strategies for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Funders/philanthropists: Identify top candidates in the market for sponsorship.
What you can expect
Tips for shifting away from the dominant disability narrative. Interviews with individuals implementing inclusion strategies that work. Best practices. Explainers on accessibility. Language and policy discussions. Data resources. Commendable disability coverage. Opportunities for grants and fellowships. Upcoming events. Some honest content analysis.
People behind Reframing Disability
Just me for now, until someone funds me to bring more talent on board.
I’m Priti Salian, an independent journalist, researcher and accredited media trainer based out of Bengaluru, a city in South India. I’ve covered human rights, social justice and development, specifically at the intersections of disability, gender, global health, and education, from India, Germany and Uganda. My work can be found in publications like The Guardian, BBC, NBC, The Lancet, The British Medical Journal, Reasons to be Cheerful, and Stanford Social Innovation Review.
In 2022, I was a journalist fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, where I conducted research on disability inclusion in Indian newsrooms and wrote a 9-step plan for curb-cutting disability access in India’s news and newsrooms.
My time at the Reuters Institute sparked in me a desire to take up disability rights in newsrooms. A deep dive into the negative, but dominant disability narratives during the fellowship, pushed me to look for existing resources on shifting the narrative. When I didn’t find a comprehensive resource I could rely on, I decided to create one.
Throughout the past year, I upskilled and prepared myself to work on this mission. I trained as Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and Solutions Journalism trainer, and now conduct workshops (among other things) to shift the deficit-framing in disability reporting to asset-framing.
This newsletter is the next step to reach every individual who cares about inclusive storytelling and is eager for more insights to get it right. My sincere hope is for Reframing Disability to become a global platform to find resources centring disability and accessibility and to strengthen the community that works towards the same goal.
