Splintered Channels and Niche (Disabled) Influencers as Citizen Journalists

This chapter examines the different channels operated by and for people with disabilities and how the participation of disabled citizen journalists contributes to the social construction of disability. Citizen journalists create several disability news websites, blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, and other media forms every year, reaching a large and expanding audience. Further, many of these outlets can and do have an impact beyond the disability community, influencing legacy media and non-disabled audiences. The chapter will discuss historical events (e.g., the independent living movement, the introduction of closed captioning), as well as trade organizations focused on disability rights (e.g., the National Center on Disability and Journalism).