Media is considered as one of the most powerful tools in disseminating information
thereby shaping people’s lives. While there have been various studies about the
relationship between media and people with disabilities, much of the emphasis has
been on the media’s representation of people with disabilities than accessibility of print
content in formats friendly to people with visual impairments. This research is a
qualitative study which looked at the accessibility of online published print media
information to people with visual impairments in terms of format. This was done by
analysing content in online newspapers and magazines to determine its accessibility
to them. Online interviews were also conducted to find out how print media is
accessible to people with visual impairments. The Uses and Gratifications and the
Social Responsibility theories were selected to frame the study on how media satisfies
their specific needs and desires as well as having certain social obligations to society
respectively. The findings of this study were that print media was inaccessible to
people with visual impairments both in terms of formats and content. There is no print
media known to people with visual impairments producing information in Braille format.
The electronic version of printed media proved to be inaccessible due to the lack of
media adherence to the Web Accessibility Guidelines. The research also established
the underrepresentation and lack of representation in some print media due to print
media’s lack of interest to cover disability issues. To respond to these needs, a
framework was developed to ensure that people who are visually impaired are able to
access print media information. / Communication Science / D. Phil. (Communication studies)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/27553 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Kumwenda, Sally |
| Contributors | Mpine, Makoe |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xv, 290 leaves), application/pdf |
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