Media and the disabled...

Interesting article about the media and the disabled:

Poynter Online - How the News Media
Handicap Those with Disabilities

Feel-good stories are nice. A disabled person overcomes the odds.

But why must the story be about overcoming the odds? I like the last line: "Tell a story "less (about) overcoming and more (about) 'just being.' "

I was the subject of three media stories when I was in junior high school.

I wrote a article when I was in the 8th grade titled "Life Through My Eyes."' I told about my life as a person with cerebral palsy. I haven't seen the article in such a long time -- that's nearly 30 years ago -- I just remember I told my story and the article was first in my school paper, then we re-published in a local medical journal.

The local newspaper, The Oregonian, did a article about me shortly after that, the impetus for that article being the article I had written. It was a feel good article, but it was not over done. It gave people a better picture of me.

The other story that was done of my was a pure puff piece of the new adaptive P.E. class I was in. It was on local tv news. For the camera I was put through a maze of activity. I was offended because most days adaptive p.e. was volunteer moms tossing a nerf ball at us, but for the camera I did activities I had never done before and never did again. Pure PR and I was the prop.

I don't mind being part of a story about me where I am the story (the real me), but I don't want to be a "feel-good" about another disabled guy who gets up in the morning.