PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH THE PRISM OF DIGITAL MEDIA – FROM LABELING AND DISCRIMINATION TO INCLUSIVE MEDIA CONTENT

Abstract

Reporting on people with disabilities can pose ethical and professional dilemmas for journalists in terms of approach to events or topics. This is largely influenced by prejudices suggesting that people with disabilities should be treated differently in media spaces. However, reporting on people with disabilities entails adhering to ethical and professional standards in journalism, which implies equal access as other event participants or story subjects. Disability should not be the sole focus, nor should people with disabilities be portrayed as “pitiful” or “superheroes”. The aim of this paper is to emphasize that people with disabilities in the media should be depicted based on the social model of disability, which focuses on society and actions taken to ensure equality for people with disabilities. Through quantitative and qualitative content analysis of digital media in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BaH), the presence of people with disabilities and the extent to which the social model is represented as an example of inclusive media content was be considered. The content analysis sample includeed digital formats of leading public and commercial, electronic, and print media in BaH. It is concluded that proactive and constructive media reporting, while respecting normative ethical and professional standards regarding people with disabilities, is one of the primary prerequisites for the public perception of people with disabilities as equal and full-fledged members of society.