Media Musings: Rock the Loud Minority!

Every blog carnival that I've had the pleasure to click through leads me to the same conclusion. I am thrilled at the range and depth of talent of the writers in our blog community- and stunned at how many of us type away each day delivering consistantly fabulous, illuminating contnet- for free and easyInternet consumption. I do believe that writers should get paid for their craft, but we all know the significant challenges involved in getting quality disability- related content out to the masses by means of popular media outlets- i.e. those that write checks.

The reason we invest our valuable time and limited resources- essentially reporting the news for free- is simple. We care about the issues that affect people. Regardless of one's position in life, the concerns affecting people with disabilities affect us all. Americans can no longer afford to hide behind an "us/ them" mindset. We in the community understand the nature of the dividing line, that it is infinitely porous, fluid. Maybe it changes its course as you enter your senior years, have kids, when new neighbors move in across the street. The line arches to encompass friends and relatives at all stages of life, colorfully winding its way through our communities. When did your "them" start to bear an uncannty resemblance to those you call friend, colleague, lover, parent, child?

If you are under 40 you likely shared a classroom with a disabled student. Maybe you hung out, went to each others birthday parties. You did not attend a segregated school system, why accept media that is one- dimmensional and lazy with the facts about a vital segment of your community? Take this as fact instead: disability issues influence YOUR legislators, YOUR community leaders, YOUR bills in congress, YOUR healthcare providers, YOUR school districts, YOUR places of business, YOUR economy.

It is my hope that disabled journalists, with or without a venture like [With-tv] will figure out a way to fill the gap created by popular media's consistant misrepresentation and cliche- ridden content. This week's blog carnival hosted at [With-tv] is a fine compilation of voices and a testament to the possibilites of engaging a broader audience.

With the current writer's strike network television is at a standstill. But writers in the disability blog community won't go silent because we understand that the price of media complacency is a debt of devastating proportion. Turn to this week's blog carnival to read some of the facts the mainstream media overlooked.