English Federation of Disability Sport Media Guide: Reporting on disabled people in sport August 2016 Making active lives possible www.efds.co.uk Media Guide: Reporting on disabled people in sport Contents Forewords 3 Headlines 17 Barry Horne, Chief Executive, Imagery 17 English Federation of Disability Sport 3 4. Language 19 Andy Elliott, Chair, Sports Journalists’ Association 4 5. Use of different media formats 21 Lisa O’Keefe, Director of Insight, Sport England 5 6. Ambassadors 23 Tom Mludzinski, Director of Political and Social Research, ComRes 6 Checklist 27 Research summary 7 Conclusions 28 Guide summary 8 Further information 30 Terminology 10 Notes 33 Disability in England facts 11 The Guide 13 1. Tailoring content to the sport 14 2. Types of story 15 3. Style and placement of articles 17 2 Forewords Barry Horne, The news we consume can affect With more options, we need to be mindful of Chief Executive, English everyone’s perceptions of themselves the high number of our population who would as people and, for the talented few in sport, also look for accessibility and inclusivity Federation of Disability Sport as athletes. This means that it is particularly when revisiting sites or buying papers again. important that coverage is positive if it is From previous English Federation going to encourage disabled people to We are delighted to present this new Guide of Disability Sport (EFDS) research, access opportunities and take part. That for journalists and others who write news we know that psychological barriers is why we all have an obligation to improve on disabled people in sport. The additional are the most significant in preventing our reporting and articles about disabled support from the Sports Journalists’ disabled people from being active. people in sport. Association and British Paralympic Association has been invaluable in its In our first research project on this topic, promotion and we will continue to work we commissioned ComRes to explore with them to expand this work. people’s views on disability sports news. It is promising to hear that those involved Although we are well placed to support in the research noted the improvement journalists and sports providers before the over the years. Importantly, we sought the most recognised event in disability sport, views of, amongst others, disabled people the Paralympics, it is paramount that, all themselves. There are over nine million year round, we address the issues raised. disabled people in England, that is one in Our Guide is a useful tool to have nearby five who consider themselves to have an to continually help with your reporting and impairment or health condition- a large remind you what readers would prefer to proportion of everyone’s readership. read about. The way we access news is extremely diverse and it gives us incredible choice. 3 Media Guide: Reporting on disabled people in sport Andy Elliott, There are challenges to growing coverage. Chair, Sports Journalists spoken to identified a number of barriers to reporting on disability sport, Journalists’ Association ranging from not being aware of the timing of events to lacking confidence on language With the Rio Paralympics just around the and the classification system. corner, a best-practice Guide for journalists reporting on disability sport is timely. This Guide seeks to help overcome those challenges and provide key resources to However, as our friends at the English enable journalists do their job ever better Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) when they write about disabled people. will testify, this is not just about a once- every-four-years requirement. We hope The research tells us that journalists need this Guide, and similar advice from the to make small tweaks to the language they British Paralympic Association, will help use, use social media more, and understand inform media every day, every year. what type of content plays best. The Guide also covers the importance of being open The research EFDS commissioned and clear about the sport and the athlete has been conducted among the Sports being reported on, even in terms of the Journalists’ Association (SJA) members athlete’s impairment or health condition. and readers at large. The SJA is delighted to play its part It’s gratifying to know that as an industry in supporting EFDS and this important we have improved since 2012 and that Guide will help sports journalists maintain the majority of articles that report on sport momentum to increase coverage of for disabled people use positive language. disability sports at all levels. But the research makes it clear that more can be done. 4 Lisa O’Keefe, What’s more, both disabled and non-disabled Providing helpful advice and tips, this Guide people agree that the reporting of sport also highlights the need for sports providers Director of Insight, and physical activity for disabled people to engage better with sport journalists to Sport England has improved greatly over the last ten promote activities. There are many fantastic years, which leaves us with a strong stories to tell in disability sport and this With the thrills of the 2016 Rio Paralympic platform to build on. Guide can help us all tell them better. Games soon to get underway, it’s safe to say that disability sport will offer column inches London 2012 is regarded as a watershed of the ecstatic highs and heart-breaking moment for sport and physical activity, with lows that can only come with sport. many disabled adults reporting that this is the first time they have taken a real interest While undoubtedly a fantastic showcase or followed the coverage in the media. of heights which can be achieved, the Notwithstanding this, the reality is that Paralympics only show one half of the disabled people are still less likely to be disability sports’ story, with millions of active than non-disabled people, and disabled people playing sport far away this has to change. The media can play from the glare of the Paralympic flame. a vital role in helping us to bridge this The Guide offers an invaluable insight gap by showing a greater willingness into how the media can enhance their to cover sport for both disabled and coverage of disability sport on a regular non-disabled people. basis. Encouragingly, research shows that there is overwhelming support for seeing more coverage. 5 Media Guide: Reporting on disabled people in sport Tom Mludzinski, Together with EFDS, we developed an We hope you find this Guide useful and Director of Political and innovative and thorough research framework, informative. We believe it can become including in-depth interviews and a media a valuable tool if used positively and Social Research, ComRes monitoring programme. It has allowed us to representatively to present sports explore the key stories and themes involving news about disabled people. It was a landmark year in 2012 for disabled people in sport, and to understand Paralympics coverage. Like many of you the types of news articles that are most likely and the wider public, I was gripped by the to be reported. This ran over the course of coverage of the Games, and the successes major sporting events, including the 2016 and stories emerging from the historic event. Invictus Games, Wimbledon and the This year the Paralympic Games will be run-up to the Paralympics. even more significant. Building on the Over the course of the research, success of 2012 is essential in ensuring respondents noted that media coverage that the coverage of disabled people in of disabled people in sport and physical sport and physical activity is maintained activity has increased since 2012, and there throughout the year, and possibly even were also very few examples of negative help to develop more stars of the future. news reporting. However, feedback also As such, we are pleased to work with suggested that more could be done to the English Federation of Disability Sport increase the parity of coverage between (EFDS) and to present this Guide for the disabled and non-disabled people in sport, media and other stakeholders involved in as well as citing potential resources that the sports sector. Over the last few months could help journalists, and sport and activity we have been conducting research among providers, to write more engagingly and three key audiences: disabled and non- accurately about disabled people in sport. disabled adults with an interest in sport, and sports journalists. 6 Research summary The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) commissioned ComRes to develop a research plan to assess views of how the media portrays disabled people in sport. As well as media monitoring, we conducted research among both disabled and non- disabled adults interested in sport. ComRes also interviewed sports journalists working for national, local and individual sport specific publications. By incorporating the views of those who help to create sports news, and those who are most likely to consume it, we sought to provide a detailed benchmark of reporting. It is important to mention that the research found all audiences noted the increased and improved coverage of disability sport during the Paralympics in 2012. But they felt this has not been maintained since then, and that there is a latent demand for more reporting and visibility in the media. You can download the research report on www.efds.co.uk 7 Media Guide: Reporting on disabled people in sport Guide summary We have compiled this Guide for journalists and those who provide news content, to help shape the way disability sport news is reported. It is broken down into six key sections, summarised below. Section Guide summary • Sports for disabled people that are traditionally played more by disabled people (e.g.