‘Why this story over a hundred others of the day?’ Five journalists’ backstories about writing disability in Toronto

Abstract

This interview-based study explores the stories behind current disability-based journalism based on the intersubjective experiences of five Toronto journalists whose lives and work intersect with disability. These discussions are divided into salient categories of attitudes, representation, language, framing, gate-keeping, and communication, followed by a list of recommendations on how to pitch disability-based stories to news media. This study uses a dual lens of disability theory and journalism to open a discussion toward further areas of consideration of this apparent gap between journalists and disability-invested organizations/individuals, and to communicate strategies for researchers, allies, and journalists who seek to learn more about how cultural representations of journalism come to exist as they do. Ultimately, participants encourage a shift from dialogue about disability and journalism to a realization that this dialogue is far from oppositional and players in both fields wish to contribute.