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EASIT,
Easy Access for Social Inclusion Training

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Welcome to Unit 3c, 
Easy-to-understand and audiovisual journalism. 

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Element 1. Processes.

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What is general 
and E2U audiovisual journalism?

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I am Ester Hedberg,

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from the Swedish 
National Association for Dyslexia. 

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Overview.

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In this short presentation 
I will focus on a few important,

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journalistic components 
and what to think about when creating,

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audiovisual journalism in easy language.

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These components are:
selecting relevant news,

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time, truth
and making the content interesting.

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Accessible journalism.

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Making audiovisual news easier
to understand  can be done by means of,

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accessibility services such as
audio description and audio subtitles,

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in both standard and simplified formats.
But these are not always enough.

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Sometimes the content itself 
needs to be made easier to understand. 

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That goes for 
both verbal and visual content. 

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If you listen to the interviews with users,
which you can find in this unit,

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as “Users voice”,
you will learn that pace is crucial.

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Users that have difficulties following
standard news shows on TV or the radio,

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often need more time
to reflect and digest information. 

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In this unit,

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you will also find videos dealing with
verbal, visual and technical issues.

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For instance:
“The Process of Creation, Adaptation and,

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Validation of E2U
Audiovisual Journalistic Content”,

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and “Simplifying language and style
of audiovisual journalistic texts”.

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Democracy.

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Before continuing with this lecture,
I would like to say a few words about,

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the importance of journalism.

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In the book “The elements of journalism”,
Kovach and Rosenstiel write that: 

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“The quality of our democratic life depends,
in short, on the public having the facts,

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and being able to make sense of them”.

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Purpose.

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They also write that:
“The primary purpose of journalism is to,

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provide citizens with the information
they need to be free and self-governing”.

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The citizens that Kovach and Rosenstiel
are referring to are you and me. 

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All of us.

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As individuals we need
to know what is happening around us,

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to participate 
in society on an equal basis,

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to speak up for ourselves, 
and to fulfill our social duties, 

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such as voting in an election.

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It does not matter who we are
or what abilities or disabilities we have. 

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Journalism, in its true meaning, 
is really important for all of us. 

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And for democracy.

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Selection.

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With that in mind,
what is journalism? 

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Smith and Higgins write in
their book “The Language of Journalism”,

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that “The items that make up the
news agenda are not randomly assembled,

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nor are they the outcome of
a natural and unchanging order.

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Rather, journalism 
is a matter of selection”.

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Selecting the right news
is always a challenge for journalists. 

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It is the great responsibility of
the journalist to choose the right news,

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meaning the right news
for the news consumer. 

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And this is really worth a discussion.

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Should you as a journalist
provide the same news topics,

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for consumers of easy language news
as for consumers of standard language news? 

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Yes, of course you should.
But maybe not exclusively.

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Because as a journalist you also
need to think about what is relevant,

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for your particular target audience.

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What are their interests? 
You must know your audience,

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and it has to be reflected
in the news you select.

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Needs of the audience.

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If you are producing news in 
easy language for second language learners, 

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there will be certain particular issues
that are of more interest to them,

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than to others.

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If you produce easy language news
for people with cognitive difficulties,

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there might be some other
issues that are important to them. 

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You must know
what your audience needs. 

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Not only for selecting the right news,

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but also when deciding how to
describe the news and which words to use.

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For a second language learner
you may need to explain,

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some cultural features
that are most likely very familiar,

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to the rest of the audience. 

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Time.

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Time is always an
important factor in broadcast news shows.

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But it is even more important
when presenting news in easy language.

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In particular if your audience is
struggling with cognitive difficulties

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They might need a slower pace
in both verbal and visual presentations,

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and clear gaps
between the different news items.

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They might also need complex 
news items to be more thoroughly explained,

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and that often means more words. 

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Do not avoid.

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Most probably you will find that
some news items are hard to present,

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in an easy-to-understand manner
in the short time format you are given.

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This is a challenge,
and you may be tempted,

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to just avoid this particular news item
or to leave out parts of it. 

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But by leaving parts out
there is a risk that the news item,

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will be harder to understand.

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And by avoiding some news items,
you might exclude your audience,

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from information 
that is important to them.

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That is not good journalism.

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Ask yourself if there is
another way to present the news item. 

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Talk to your colleagues.

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Or maybe there is
a less important piece of news,

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you can skip so you can devote
more time to what is important. 

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The truth.

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You remember that
Kovach and Rosenstiel wrote that: 

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“The primary purpose 
of journalism is to provide citizens,

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with the information they need
to be free and self-governing”.

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In their book they list 10 principles
that you need to fulfill to do this.

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I will only talk about
the first and the seventh principles.

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The first one is:
“Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.”

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As a citizen, it can be hard
to rely on the information you get. 

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Especially today, 
when there are so many platforms,

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giving space to different voices,

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not all of whom tell the truth
or have an honest purpose.

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But how do we know?

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We are taught to double check facts
and to review sources,

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but still, it is difficult. 

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Trustworthy.

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People who need news
in easy language might have,

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an even harder time than others
to pick out a reliable voice from the crowd.

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They will most likely be
more vulnerable to fake news,

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since it is often more difficult
for them to double check facts,

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or to review sources.

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As a journalist,

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you can help your audience by
being honest and trustworthy.

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Always present the truth
and be transparent about the way you work. 

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Don't let them down.

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Interesting.

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As you already know,
there are different ways to make,

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journalistic content accessible.

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One of them is to make sure
the news items are engaging. 

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Kovach and Rosenstiel’s
seventh principle is:

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“Journalism must make
the significant interesting and relevant.” 

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Boring is hard.

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Most of us would find
dull and boring content hard to digest.

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If your target group includes
people with cognitive difficulties,

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some will get tired very easily
and/or have problems concentrating. 

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For them it is harder
than for the rest of us,

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to take in material that is
uninteresting or difficult to understand.

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Try to make the news item
captivating for your audience. 

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There is no contradiction between
being relevant and being engaging. 

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Kovach and Rosenstiel write that:

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“The task of those
engaged in journalism...,

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is to make the significant parts
of each story interesting for the reader.” 

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How to do that?

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And how do you do that?
They say:

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“...through superior reporting,
thinking, narrative, design,

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and presentation of data in a way
that helps the reader make sense,

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of what's going on in the world.” 

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And to make your piece of news interesting
you have to start planning,

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before going out to report.

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Ask yourself.

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Kovach and Rosenstiel continue:

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“When taking on a story,
or thinking about engaging a topic, 

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one should ask,
and the audience should be able to detect,

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the answers to,
the following questions. 

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What is this story really about? 

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Who does this story,
or these facts affect, and how? 

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What information 
do these people need to know,

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to make up their own minds
about the subject? 

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Who has the information,
and who can put it in context? 

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What's the best way to tell this story?

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Is it even a narrative,
or is it better told another way?

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These simple questions
can make a big difference.” 

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Making it understandable.

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As a journalist you will help 
your audience understand by using,

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easy verbal and visual language, 
providing time, being trustworthy,

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and reporting what is relevant
in an engaging way. 

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There are different methods,
but you need to make sure,

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that your audience
can take it in and understand it. 

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Kovach and Rosenstiel say:

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“Whatever it is, your first concern
should be whether your method for conveying,

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the story will lead the reader to
greater understanding of the issues at hand.” 

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Meet the audience.

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“Nothing about us without us”.

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is a slogan used by
disability rights organizations worldwide.

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It means involving users in
the design and production processes. 

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You can learn
more about that in Unit 1. 

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To make sure that
your audience understands the news,

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you need to know them.

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And you must ask them
about their needs and preferences. 

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In stressful journalistic processes
you cannot ask your audience,

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on a daily basis
whether they find the content relevant, 

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interesting and understandable.

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But you should
stay in touch with them,

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and ask for their opinions
in a way that works for them.

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Remember that sending out
a written survey is generally not a good idea,

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because some of them
have difficulties reading and understanding. 

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Get an understanding of them
and decide together with them,

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how you can work together
to make news that works for them.

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Diversity.

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We have been focusing on how to 
make news content easy to understand,

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but there is one last thing,
and that is to work together with journalists,

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that have
personal experience of disabilities. 

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They know better than others
how to describe different disabilities.

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And they also have a better idea
of how to make the daily news,

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accessible to more people.

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But most importantly,
by working together with,

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people of different 
backgrounds and experiences,

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you will widen your newsdesk’s perspective
on issues and better mirror our society

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Diversity enriches, so encourage it.

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Summary.

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It is important to use
simplified verbal and visual content,

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when creating news
that is easy to understand. 

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But in this video lecture
we have been focusing on,

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some general journalistic elements
and on what to consider when producing news,

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for people who need
news in easy language

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That is:
Select the right news,

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devote time, be trustworthy,
report what is relevant in an engaging way,

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meet your audience,
encourage diversity at your news desk.

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Thank you for listening!

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This video lecture was prepared 
by Ester Hedberg

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from the 
Swedish National Association for Dyslexia.  

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You can reach me at:
ester.hedberg@dyslexi.org

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The project EASIT has received funding
from the European Commission,

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under the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships
for Higher Education Programme,

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grant agreement
2018-1-ES01-KA203-05275.

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The European Commissions support
for the production of this publication,

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does not constitute
an endorsement of the contents,

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which reflect the views only of the authors,

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and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made,

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of the information contained therein.

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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution,

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ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Partners of the EASIT Project:
University UAB, Barcelona,

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Trieste University,
Vigo University,

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Hildesheim University,
University SDI, München,

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Swedish National Association
for Dyslexia,

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