UK broadcasters sign Disability Manifesto

By Simon Minty, founding member of Broadcasters Disability Network (simonminty@blueyonder.co.uk)

My earliest memory of television was watching people "like me," but not like me, on television. Being of short stature and 3 feet 11 inches tall (1metre 20 cm), I felt then and now the representation and portrayal of people like me was not accurate. There are two types of portrayal:

Short statured people who lived underground or in the woods, had lots of fur, could do magic, and who walked funny (I do the funny walking bit, admittedly).
Short statured people as objects of ridicule, fun, pity, weakness, never seen as intelligent (or only super intelligent), sexy, cool or one of the crowd.

After sitting uncomfortably for a few moments, my family and I used to switch the channel when that happened.

Emergence of the UK Disability Arts scene

Despite my discomfort, I didn't know exactly what I could do about the poor representation, so I left it for 20 years and accepted it as a given. Then I went travelling for six months to many countries and realised around the world these same images were prevalent. In turn, this portrayal affected the way people treated me. One remaining memory was a chap in Melbourne, Australia, trying hard to understand me then stating, "Well, people like you aren't, you know, human."

I returned from my travels and started writing about travel and being a disabled person. Before long I was asked to write and present a television travel programme--as part of a regular travel series. I visited Beijing and talked about Beijing, and I occasionally talked about me.

Two great things came about from this:

The programme won an award Travel Writer Best Television feature in a mainstream category.
More importantly, I thought there may be a 10-year-old child with my condition that for the first time saw someone like him or her, doing something on TV that other people do, that is, travel. And I didn't use a magic wand or anything!

At about the same time, I started to get involved in disability arts. In London and the UK generally, there is a strong arts scene and we have had four disability film festivals. Each year, the numbers of entries gets bigger and gets better.

Now, in terms of arts, comedy is my passion, but I have been advisor and semi-produced films for promotions and events. I was determined to see myself again in a more accurate light.

A key phrase I take on board comes from the opening paragraph of Cinema of Isolation. It says, "the toughest item on the agenda of disability is.... [the media] has no need for most disabled persons."

Well, I knew that is wrong, as otherwise Star Wars, The Tin Drum, James Bond, Snow White, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory would not have been made. The media did need me and other disabled people, but only in certain roles and to depict certain images or messages.

Working with Media contacts

Because of my writing, presentation and training skills, I started to be approached by larger or national media organisations who had a disability specialist member of staff. I soon realised to move things forward on the disability agenda, i.e. for disabled people to feature in all types of programming, film making, in the production team, as writers there needed to be a four-pronged approach:

Tell broadcasters when they "get it wrong."
Work with them to get it right and start making the films and programmes ourselves.
Get training for those who need it and show our talent and creativity.
Illustrate the point that we are viewers, consumers and customers.

One organisation I became very involved in was the Broadcaster Disability Network. They too had identified the four possible approaches to improving and making more accurate representation of disability in the media.

How BDN came about

Broadcasters knew disability was an often-neglected rights issue. I think initially they may have still believed disabled people aren't needed, so any plans were of a good natured and benevolent nature, but more of a nice thing to do rather than any gain for the broadcaster.

I disagreed with this and suggested they should do it because:

As disabled people, we have talent and skills.
The media constantly struggles for ideas, innovation and talent and skills--so why exclude us?
We make up a significant proportion of the population--that is, we watch television and films. Are they not interested in maintaining and increasing their audience?
This hasn't been done before--be the first! Take a risk, take a chance.
And of course, I did enhance and agree that this is morally the right thing to do.

So in 1997, the Broadcasters' Disability Network (BDN) brought together the UK's major broadcasters to explore and address disability as it relates to the media industry. The Network tries to make it easier for members to recruit and retain disabled people and to promote and share best practice across the industry. The members include BBC, BSkyB, Carlton TV, Channel 5, Channel 4, Discovery Networks Europe, Film Council, Fremantle Media, Granada Media, Pearson, PACT (Producers' Alliance for Cinema and Television) and Turner Broadcasting System.

I was the original associate--the disabled person who went to committee meetings who acted as a sounding board, gave advice and ideas. Where there has been success in moving disability programming and employment up the agenda in a media organisation, most of the processes have had very similar sequences. So how do you do it?

Find the disability champion within the organisation
Ensure the champion has the time, willingness and ability to move things forward. They need to be well connected, patience and resilient.
Work with everyone, make allies wherever you can but watch out for hidden agendas, manipulation, taking advantage (from both disabled and non-disabled!)
Be creative--what are the new ideas? How does disability affect everyone, e.g. age, inventions, such as telephone, medicine such as genetics, war injured e.g. chemical, mental trauma as well as physical,
Re-invent the wheel, many times.
Don't give up.

It took us 10 years in the UK to get here, (not to mention the 20 years prior to the BDN formation) and I often think we have only just started.

In May 2002, an event was held where all the major broadcasters published a manifesto of action and their Chief Executives publicly stated their commitment to the issue.

Positive Action on Disability Manifesto 2002

The official introduction to this event states:

Recognising disability and embracing it makes good business and creative sense for the broadcasting industry. Yet the UK's record on disability lags behind other diversity issues. In the last 18 months, thanks in part to the work of the Cultural Diversity Network, race has been a particular priority for broadcasters. But disabled people are significantly worse off than ethnic minorities when it comes to employment and representation on screen and on air. They comprise only 0.9% of employees and 0.4% of freelancers working in the broadcasting sector. (Compare that with 5.6% employees and 7.7% freelancers from ethnic minorities.) (Source: Skillset Survey 2000). The Disability Rights Commission estimate that 12% of all disabled people are in employment, so the broadcasting sector is well below the national average.

Representation on screen is more of a challenge, given that many disabilities are invisible. Disabled people are rarely seen on our screens except in special programmes about impairment. They are rarely in the background as extras, in the foreground as presenters or actors, are rarely interviewed as vox pops or as experts (except on disability), and almost never included as participants in game shows.

Key Commitments

The member organisations of the Broadcasters' Disability Network (BDN) commit:

To increase the presence of disabled people on air and on screen
To increase the number of disabled people in all areas of the workforce
To increase access to services on and off air
To ensure access to all buildings
To produce and make a public an Action Plan, endorsed at Board level, which details how these Key Commitments will be implemented.

In May 2003, there was a public event where all the Broadcasters reported their progress. This reporting was to other BDN members, government ministers and of course, disabled people.

Highlights of 2003 report on Manifesto

BBC improved access of online service (www.bbc.co.uk) , established an access unit to offer support to disabled staff, and added a disability sports coordinator;
SKY improving accessibility of its website, upgraded subtitling of programs to 45,000 hours, added audio description to 3000 hours, and established disability focus groups;
Channel 4 successfully encouraged prime time program makers to include disabled characters, established a "Fourall disability database," and began supporting a scholarship (bursary) program for production training and career development for disabled people;
Carlton supported traineeships for disabled individuals in program production and launched a disability campaign, "Changing Attitudes;"
Granada produced new disability programming, provided work placements for disabled individuals, and ran training courses and workshops on disability issues;
Film Council published research report on "Cinema access techniques for people with sensory impairments," began requiring filmmakers who receive funding to include sub-titled and audio-described productions, and began allocating funding for same.

Details about progress on implementing Disability Manifesto can be found on the webiste of the Employers' Forum on Disability: www.employers-forum.co.uk

Disability Arts & Media Organizations in the UK

Broadcasters Disability Network
An organisation of major television broadcasters in the UK, committed to improving employment of disabled people and for greater accuracy in portrayal on television. Such commitment is evidenced through Manifesto's signed and agreed at Board level and with Action Plans. There are regular meetings, discussing, sharing and creating ideas, reporting progress and assistance in implementing activities. It also extends to a monetary contribution from all the members to fund the BDN's staff, a regular newsletter and specific schemes such as the annual Edinburgh International Television Festival.

The BDN has maintained a presence at Edinburgh for several years. Two audience participating sessions have been produced; the first in 1998 asked senior television executives why there aren't more disabled presenters on our screens. As a result, there are a few more now! In 1999, the session centred on the launching of a cable/satellite disability channel. In 2001, there was a session about disabled actors in mainstream dramas. Every year, 12 disabled people in or around the industry have gone to Edinburgh to mingle, cajole and flirt with the great and the good of the television industry. Many of them are now working in the industry.

See www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/guests/bdn/index.htm.

National Disability Arts Forum
NDAF, set up in 1990, is a nationwide organisation for disabled people wishing to work in the arts. Sources of disability arts groups like the ones below can be found via NDAF. Website: http://ndaf.org.

GRAEAE Theatre Company
GRAEAE (pronounced 'grey eye') run training courses throughout the year for budding actors. The courses normally end with a tour of the play, so the new actors can practice their trade. GRAEAE has been in existence for some twenty years. Go to www.users.dircon.co.uk/~graeae.

Cando Co Dance Company
Cando Co has a growing reputation for innovation in dance and disability. See www.ecna.org/placeds/database/Candoco.html.

Heart 'n' Soul
A band of people with learning disabilities who have played gigs across the UK and Europe and performed at last years Glastonbury Music Festival, the UK's premier annual music festival. They also host the "Beautiful Octopus Club," a bi-monthly nightclub in South East London, whose reputation and popularity is outstripping its venue's capacity; in excess of 500 learning disabled people arrived for a January club night. See their website: www.heartnsoul.co.uk.

Strathcona Theatre Company
An actors training workshop for people with learning disabilities who write and perform their work to a fee-paying audience. Find details on the web at www.strathco.demon.co.uk/.

Jackson's Lane
An arts venue in North London that, in 1998, staged a month-long disability arts festival with performances, workshops, debates and interviews from across the disability arts spectrum. See http://www.jacksonslane.org.uk.

Survivor's Poetry
The second largest poetry group in the UK, comprised of poets who have 'survived' the UK's mental health service system. The poetry explores the survivors' experiences living with mental health issues. Regular performances by the authors can be found in London and the UK. Website: http://survive.org.uk.

Drake Music Project
Based in the Home Counties, disabled people collaborate with musicians to learn and write music. People with severe disabilities have emerged as talented creative individuals who with the assistance of technology can perform their music. Check the website, www. drakemusicproject.com.

SHAPE
A disability arts organisation based in London to co-ordinate and aid aspiring creative individuals.356 Holloway Road London N7 6PA UK, Voice/text: +44 (0) 20 7700 8139 Fax: 020 7700 8143 E-mail: info@shape-uk.co.uk

DAIL: Disability Arts In London
DAIL is a regular arts magazine that has reviews and articles from the arts world, often featuring painting and sculpture exhibitions, as well as advertising for employment and training courses within disability, the arts and the media. They are closely associated with London Disability Arts Forum and can be found on the web at www.dail.dircon.co.uk.

Artsline
In terms of collaboration to improve access to, and information on, arts and media venues, Artsline are the key providers. See www.artsline.org.uk.

BBC Television
The Disability Production Unit (DPU) has existed for more than a decade now. It is a dedicated unit of disabled people within the BBC which produces a magazine television series on disability issues. They also produced the extremely well received "Disabled Century," a stylised history of disability in the UK since 1900 shown over three 50-minute documentaries finishing with a debate as to where disabled people are today in our society. See www.bbc.co.uk (search for disability), or go to www.bbc.co.uk/ouch.

BBC and Channel 4 Television Training Courses
Both the BBC and Channel 4 run trainee-ships or work experience programmes for disabled people to work with and in, various production departments. Other members of the Broadcasters' Disability Network also run bursaries for disabled people to gain experience and ideally obtain employment within various sectors of the industry. See www.bbc.co.uk or www.channel4.com.

London Arts Board
They approve funding in many areas of the arts in London. For more information, see www.arts.org.uk/directory/regions/london/index.html.