Latinos with disabilities and advocates can utilize the media to get their messages across to the community, participants at a national conference were told. "Publicity in broadcast and print media is a good way to reach audiences who do not have access to the Internet and who do not attend conferences or participate in professional networks," said Robin Savinar during the workshop entitled "Latinos with Disabilities and the Media."

Building Relationships

Savinar, manager of Proyecto Visión and a former public relations professional, emphasized the importance of building relationships with reporters to increase publicity. "If an editor knows you and considers you an expert on a topic, they may go to you as a source of information. This is a good way to include accurate information and representations of people with disabilities in the media and minimize stereotypes."

One workshop participant suggested building relationships with editors in addition to reporters since often they are the ones who decide which stories to cover.

In discussing how and when to approach members of the media, Savinar suggested contact only when there is news you think the reporter is genuinely interested in. "If you regularly contact a reporter with insignificant news to push your agenda, you will be seen as a pest," said Savinar. She continued, "Instead, find out which reports cover beats that match your topic area (i.e. technology, healthcare, employment), follow their column for a while to make a more informed approach."

Creating Material for Use in the Media

In addition to news, Savinar explained how other media formats including films, public service announcements and short biographies, for example, can be used to get people to take action, to challenge beliefs/attitudes, share information or be role models, among other purposes. Savinar showed three public service announcements - from the Center for Independent Living, Berkeley, CA; the National Organization on Disability, and Proyecto Visión - each one illustrating different ways to use media publicity.

The audience also saw Open Futures , a collection of personal statements from successful disabled professionals about their career paths, produced by Infouse. After seeing Open Futures , one participant hailed the CD-Rom because it included statements from Latinos. She pointed out that in the Latino culture, 'verguenza' or shame, is a challenge because Latinos may not want to be open about their disability in the media. The participant said, "In the Hispanic culture, we have different attitudes about our family members with disabilities." This may lead to fear and distrust of the media and a disincentive to discuss disability publicly. When people with disabilities do not appear in the media and/or are portrayed using stereotypes and myths, people with and without disabilities in the audience are misinformed and stereotypes are reinforced.

People with Disabilities in the Media as Role Models

When there are fewer positive images of people with disabilities in the media there are less role models for young people with disabilities to emulate and draw information from.

One workshop participant, for example, said that when he was young, he thought he was the only blind child in the world. "I didn't know that there were other blind children like me," the participant said. "People would use the 'pobrecito' (poor little one) word to describe me."

"I never felt like a pobrecito, but many people believed they should feel sorry for and pity blind people." Today this man is part of the media as host of his own radio show. With first-person experience with disability and as a successful professional and active participant in his community, he offers a unique perspective. As a role model for emerging young professionals with disabilities, he now has an opportunity to change portrayals about people with disabilities in the media.

Tell Them Why They Should Care

Many participants attended this workshop to get information about how to use the media to raise visibility about their organization or interest area. After exploring a variety of ways to get publicity a common theme remained: advocates should be able to tell the media why their agency or topic area is unique, what makes them different or innovative. They are not likely to be interested unless there is some way to make your news stand out.

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