This item ought to capture the interest of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The US Dept. of Education has abruptly decided that approximately 200 television programs are not appropriate for closed captioning and are therefore ineligible to receive federal funds for that purpose. The identified shows run the spectrum of genres and include Scooby Doo, Law & Order, Bewitched, sports events, and hundreds of others. Apparently, the panel who makes these decisions consists of five people and their identities are kept secret by the government. According to the Palm Beach Post, the only news source I could find reporting this story, these five individuals were never convened as a formal panel; they were contacted separately for their opinions.
I don’t think I have to point out the appalling paternalism of this course of action. Or the callous attitude of exclusion implicit in this decision from a government that purportedly supports inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. What’s even more disturbing is this story isn’t being more widely reported as it raises fundamental issues of censorship and equal access. Hopefully, we can work to change that. Let’s spread the word about this arrogant exercise of power and petition Congress to remedy the situation.
Thanks to Neil Gaiman for discussing this on his blog, which is where I first learned about it.
I thought commercials paid for CC? Nearly every show I watch has the little blurb at the end “closed cationing paid for by (some company)”
Cellphones, Captioning
From the New York Times, A New Cellphone Nods to the Needs of the Disabled. From Mark Siegel, Arbitrary & Capricious : bad closed captioning decisions….
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