Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Volume 4, Number 3, 1999
The limited presence of disability and rehabilitation research information reflects common practices of today's media. When people with disabilities or disability issues are portrayed in the popular media it is often with a sense of heroism (mountain climbers), charity and pity (telethons), or sensationalism (as in the 60 Minutes video of Dr. Kevorkian and Mr. Thomas Youk, a man with ALS). When research information is presented it may be controversial (cloning), unique (Viagra research) or relevant to a large sector of society (breast cancer, heart disease, etc.). People with disabilities are regarded by the popular media as a somewhat invisible minority, and their concerns ongoing and largely unsensational. Therefore, disability and rehabilitation research seldom appear in the popular media.
Even in the disability media, when research information is provided it is usually in the form of a story about medical research, a research program, or as supporting information for a human-interest
oriented story, such as unemployment levels among people with disabilities. This may not be surprising given the pragmatic viewpoints of the disability media on disability issues and lifestyles, plus
their emulation of the popular press in requiring that information be current and newsworthy.
One of the most important human innovations in the new millennium will be the increasing speed of information transfer. Current and emerging electronic media allow pictures, stories, ideas and facts to be transferred around the globe in immediate "real time." This quest for speed reduces dependency on traditional print media (Walker, 1999) and may one day replace traditional means of disseminating research information. The days of going to an information source such as a library to search through pertinent journals and review relevant articles, are quickly being replaced by Internet searches, online fact sheets, downloads of research information, and even email correspondence with researchers. In essence, innovations in information transfer are bringing researchers and their research information closer to stakeholders who will ultimately utilize the research information.
In the areas of disability services, advocacy, and lifestyles, the traditional lag between research and practice is also diminishing. Formerly, researchers conducted controlled studies of innovative practices or social phenomena that had intended eventual impacts on people with disabilities. Researchers stood in the forefront of innovations in educational practices, community living, supported employment, behavior management, and other fields. With today's advocacy and empowerment, customer-driven practices may precede research, and the evolving role of research may be to validate or dispute, rather than create, innovation.
These factors provide implications for closing the communication gap between researchers and research information users, and for expanding the range of users beyond professionals and service providers to disability groups and individuals with disabilities. Such prospects provide opportunities for researchers to develop timely research information by quantifying outcomes, introducing or reinforcing adaptations to service strategies, or providing informational forums for people planning to replicate practices. People with disabilities and researchers need to continue to develop close partnerships in mutual research and services to advance the objectives of all stakeholders.
The addition of people with disabilities as users of research information requires that the information be available in media sources and formats that are accessed by people with disabilities. The issues addressed by these media, such as enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA) (Kafka, 1999), institutions vs. community services, changes in Social Security, and health care coverage, among others, are increasingly ripe areas for research to support customer-driven efforts toward change. These factors indicate that researchers should emphasize dissemination of their research information to disability media sources and the popular media.
In adopting press relations strategies, researchers may find that their research information is newsworthy enough for publication in both the popular and disability media. This is particularly true in
cases where research information supports high-profile disability issues and events.
When the media consider whether a story is newsworthy they use the following three criteria:
If research information is particularly strong in one of these criteria, such as interest to many readers and viewers, it may receive notice by the media. To accomplish "newsworthiness" researchers should attend to the following concerns in developing research information for the disability and popular media.
Research information, data and analyses may be considered newsworthy when placed in a framework of interesting stories about persons who are positively impacted by the research. The individual or "human face" presented should be representative of research issues and strategies. The story should result in gains for people with disabilities and increased understanding of their concerns. Researchers should refrain from portraying individuals in the context of overcoming their disability, or being overwhelmed by it (Hartman & Johnson, 1993). By providing factual personal accounts that are consistent with the research information, the readers' attention will not be diverted from the larger research issues and strategies.
Most people in the media, and in the general public, either experience disabilities or have relatives and friends who have disabilities. Research information relating to issues that impact a wide range of people, such as pre-existing conditions and eligibility for health insurance, may achieve newsworthiness because the information may be relevant to those with and without self-identified disabilities. Researchers may also provide interesting information that significantly impacts the lives of a specific set of people with disabilities, such as an advanced mobility device or strategy for persons who are blind, where the reader's interest may lie in the unique or innovative nature of the research information.
According to Hartman and Johnson (1993) "Timeliness is one of the most important keys to newsworthiness" (p.5). However, timeliness may contrast with research strategies such as longitudinal studies, or with the typical data analysis, preparation, and publication turnaround times of research. If a particular study, or body of research, stands out as strongly achieving the three newsworthy criteria it may be published and may create its own timeliness. In most cases, research information will be used to support disability issues or human-interest stories for which up-to-date information may be retrieved from media archives or obtained directly from the researcher.
Current disability and rehabilitation research includes many of the controversial issues facing today's society. NIDRR-funded researchers are studying high profile issues such as drugs and disability, mental health, employment discrimination, inclusive communities, and technology for survivors of land mines. Yet when these issues reach the media, research information is seldom used to support either side of the controversy. When the media reported a Supreme Court decision providing individual in-school health services to a student with disabilities (Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F., 1999), it was largely reported without research information on school inclusion. Statements from inclusion researchers could have significantly expanded the story by presenting data and testimony on the benefits of inclusion. Perhaps this lack of research information support may be explained by the media's desire to quickly report disability news and to report the case among other Supreme Court opinions handed down at that time. The media should be made aware of prevalent viewpoints and existing research concerning controversial disability issues as well as the availability of sources for reliable background and research information.
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