It’s time to build accessible news

Mission

Increase accessibility in the U.S. journalism industry and in public-facing news products so that news reaches all audiences, regardless of disability, chronic illness, literacy level, or the ways they access and consume information. News is a public good for all.

Purpose

Build, create, and partner with others to make news more accessible. That includes educating journalists through training, products, and innovation, as well as building news outlets that lead the industry in accessibility.

Vision

A news industry that is accessible to both journalists and audiences with disabilities, chronic illnesses, who are veterans, and who are caregivers, so that news is truly a public good for all.

What is accessibility?

OAJ uses the internationally understood definition of accessibility: products, devices, programs, services, resources, or environments are available to all people, regardless of ability, age, or status, with the aim to eliminate barriers, ensuring equal access and participation for all, including those with disabilities, limited mobility, or diverse backgrounds.

Breaking down barriers, building up inclusion

A man reads a computer screen while wearing dark glasses to increase contrast on the screen
A man with low vision wears dark sunglasses as he looks at a screen. The dark sunglasses help with light sensitivity and contrast. In his right hand is a mouse alternative that uses haptics to help him navigate his computer.

News audiences get their information in many different ways:

  • Text articles
  • Podcasts
  • Videos of events
  • Video or audio interviews
  • Videos and audio of reporters explaining the news
  • Simple lists
  • Social media

Information educates, sparks ideas, builds communities, and strengthens society

A person uses headphones and a Braille keyboard
A Braille keyboard and headphones help this computer user hear and feel the screen reader software that allows them to navigate their computer and the web independently. Websites must be properly coded with HTML and ARIA so those using screen reader software can navigate a site as seamlessly as those using a mouse and visual cues.

News remains out of reach for too many people because as news moves online digital accessibility goes by the wayside. The annual WebAIM Million report, which looks at the accessibility of the home pages for the top 1,000,000 web sites, continues to rank news websites among “the worst” for accessibility.

Millions of people access the web with assistive technology including:

  • Closed captioning
  • Sign language interpretation or translation
  • Braille keyboards
  • Screen readers
  • Other assistive and adaptive technology

At OAJ, we believe news should reach everyone. That means removing barriers to news.

But just as audiences are being left out of the news, many qualified people in the journalism industry find themselves underemployed or unemployed when they are disabled, living with a chronic illness, a veteran, or a caregiver. OAJ is working to make the journalism industry a more inclusive place. In a 2025 white paper examining the problems and solutions of accessibility in journalism, OAJ (then Equal Access Public Media) calculated fewer than 8 percent of journalists in the U.S. news industry are identified as disabled
.

Moving toward more accessible news for those who need it most means making sure those same people have stable, long-term employment in journalism. It means making newsrooms accessible, too.