Sami (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sami) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
accessibility_fail2011-02-09 04:35 pm
sami) wrote in accessibility_fail2011-02-09 04:35 pm
Channels Seven and Nine (Australia) think deaf people should drown.
Recently, Australia has been hit by some severe natural disasters; in particular, Queensland was hit first by flooding, and then by the worst cyclone since at least the '70s. Cyclone Yasi was, in terms of the raw power of the storm, a more severe storm than Hurricane Katrina.
Accordingly, there were a lot of evacuations and preparations to try and minimise the death toll. The Queensland Premier was frequently on television giving updates to vital information about evacuation centres, risk levels, safety warning, etc.
In order to disseminate information effectively, she appeared with a sign language interpreter at her side.
However, as documented by Media Watch, our major networks decided that it would be more important to show more footage of the floods and storm, or just to zoom in for a tight closeup of Anna Bligh, cutting the interpreter out of the shot.
Channel 7's excuse? "For technical reasons we were unable to show you the person signing that media conference and we do apologise for that."
Stupid and craven.
Accordingly, there were a lot of evacuations and preparations to try and minimise the death toll. The Queensland Premier was frequently on television giving updates to vital information about evacuation centres, risk levels, safety warning, etc.
In order to disseminate information effectively, she appeared with a sign language interpreter at her side.
However, as documented by Media Watch, our major networks decided that it would be more important to show more footage of the floods and storm, or just to zoom in for a tight closeup of Anna Bligh, cutting the interpreter out of the shot.
Channel 7's excuse? "For technical reasons we were unable to show you the person signing that media conference and we do apologise for that."
Stupid and craven.
no subject
"Need their viewing experience diminished"? Really? This is not an episode of Pop Idol, it's an emergency information broadcast. Your viewing experience of an emergency information broadcast is not diminished by not being able to see footage of rising floodwaters you've already seen.
Also, in fact, yes, you should oil squeaky wheels. That the stupid metaphor.
Also, how much do I wish that we had ASL interpreters at US important events. :-(
no subject
By their own maths, it's apparently fine if up to 100 deaf people die because they couldn't access the emergency information. So that our commentator can find the emergency broadcast entertaining.
I don't even...