Why the U.S. Needs a Media Hub to Support Disability Reporting
Author: Pavel Kuljuk
Published: 2025/05/30
Publication Type: Opinion Piece, Editorial
Category Topic: Journals and Papers - Academic Publications
Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This article highlights a significant gap in the United States' information infrastructure: the absence of a centralized, accessible national media hub providing free, high-quality video, audio, and photographic content about people with disabilities for journalists and advocates. While there is extensive support in other forms, such as text-based resources and associations for disabled journalists, the lack of a unified, multimedia information repository makes it challenging for media professionals to accurately and comprehensively report on disability issues. The article uses the example of the New York Governor's press service - which offers multimedia content for reporting - to illustrate how such a model could be adapted for disability-related topics, suggesting that a similar hub could enhance public understanding and representation. This information is particularly valuable for journalists, activists, seniors, and people with disabilities, as it advocates for more accessible, inclusive, and accurate media coverage, potentially improving societal awareness and policy outcomes - Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
A Useful Solution for Information Support for American Disabled People
Providing video, audio and photos to create reports about disabled people may be the right solution. But there is no such federal information hub for journalists yet.
Main Content
What Is Missing in Information Support for People With Disabilities
In the USA, there is high-quality and extensive information support for people with disabilities. But in one case, this support is absent and everything depends on the enthusiasm and professionalism of caring people. We are talking about the lack of a national channel for distributing texts, videos, audio and photos about people with disabilities for journalists. That is, there is no national information hub that a journalist and activist could use to legally and free of charge obtain high-quality information to create content about people with disabilities.
Now journalists are forced to search for information on their own. In most cases, text content can be found for use. But it is very difficult or even impossible to access video, photo and audio recordings. Because no one wants to create and distribute content about disabled people for free for journalists.
Let's be honest. There are no such information hubs in other information spheres. But the first attempts are being made to create such information centers to support some politicians. And this could become an example for the development of a national information hub on the topic of disabled people for journalists.
An Example of a Possible Solution to the Problem
This is an example of the work of the press service of the Governor of New York State Kathy Hochul.(1) In addition to the usual press release, the press service provides TV quality video,(2) photo,(3) and even audio of the governor's speech about the event.(4) As we can see, not only special sites but also a publicly accessible social network are used to disseminate this information. Anyone can download a video, photo, audio and use it to create a report about the governor. I do this very often. Thanks to this initiative, I have created many video news(5) A wonderful initiative of the press service, isn't it?
It would be great if there was a similar media hub where TV quality video, photo and audio about disabled people would be collected. Now each organization independently distributes mostly text materials about disabled people. And video, photo and audio are rarely distributed or not distributed at all. It would be great if all organizations creating content about disabled people (press releases, research, news, etc.) sent information to a single specialized information hub. And provided a free and legal opportunity for journalists and activists to use this information. This would improve information support for disabled people.
For example, The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 is currently being discussed a lot.(6) Many people consider this project to be unambiguous for disabled people. It would be good to collect in one place what lawyers, politicians, activists, etc. have said about this project. This would give journalists the opportunity to better inform the public about The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.
The formation of such an information hub must be supported at the level of a special law. This law would oblige press services, TV channels, newspapers and other participants in the information market to create free text, video, photo and audio copies of data and send it to the information hub. Of course this information must be adapted for the disabled. For example, the video must have subtitles.
The creation of such an information hub is possible only with political support. So far, politicians are not interested in this initiative. But even if politicians are interested, it will take a long time to implement the idea. But even with a favorable development of events, there is no guarantee that this center will be created. For now, we can confidently talk about what has already been done in this area.
Current Situation
Most of the opportunities available are for journalists who are disabled. And these opportunities are aimed at supporting the work of journalists, not creating content about the lives of disabled people.
In the US there is an association of disabled journalists "Disabled Journalists Association".(7) Many universities in the US provide various information that should help disabled journalists. For example, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication Arizona State University(8) or the University of Missouri Libraries.(9)
There are no special information centers for creating reports about disabled people. Each organization working with disabled people informs about its activities independently. That is, separately. Therefore, if journalists want to find out any information, they must look for this information in dozens of sources of information. Publicly available sources of information on a federal scale are an official website of the National Council on Disability,(10) USAGov is the official guide to government information and services,(11) U.S. Department of Labor,(12) National Federation of the Blind,(13) etc.
The quality of information collected in this way depends on the professionalism and personal qualities of the journalist. Therefore, describing topics related to the disabled is not an easy task. And this greatly reduces the amount of information about the disabled.
Check List
1) https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-photos-rush-transcript-governor-hochul-announces-belmont-park-host-2027-breeders
2) https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/5yOR7cNKW3
3) https://www.flickr.com/photos/govkathyhochul/albums/
4) https://soundcloud.com/govkathyhochul/governor-hochul-announces-belmont-park-to-host-2027-breeders-cup-world-championships
5) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1213544676832687
6) https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-top-5-ways-project-2025-would-hurt-disabled-people/
7) https://discojourno.com/
8) https://ncdj.org/resources/resources-for-journalists-with-disabilities/
9) https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/c.php?g=1201498
10) https://www.ncd.gov/resources/
11) https://www.usa.gov/disability-services
12) https://www.dol.gov/agencies/odep/program-areas
13) https://nfb.org/
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: The editorial perspective underscores the urgency of establishing a national information hub for disability-related content, arguing that such a resource would not only streamline journalistic efforts but also ensure that stories about disabled individuals are told with nuance, dignity, and accuracy. As media consumption becomes increasingly visual and multimedia-driven, the lack of accessible, centralized resources risks marginalizing the voices and experiences of people with disabilities. Political will and legislative action are needed to create and sustain this infrastructure, but the benefits - greater visibility, more informed public discourse, and improved advocacy - would be far-reaching for both the disabled community and society at large - Disabled World (DW).
Author Credentials: Pavel Kuljuk's articles and poems are published in Australia, North America, and Europe. In recent years, he has been constantly collaborating with Australian Rural & Regional News (Australia), Red Hook Daily Catch and OpEd News (USA), and Disabled World (Canada). Kuliuk's individual publications are in Forbes (Kazakhstan), Rural 21 (Germany), London Loves Business (UK), Karrep (India), RealClearDefense (RCD), Change Links, Daily Caller (USA), and many others. Explore Pavels' complete biography for comprehensive insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.