cover image: Bridging Journalism’s Data Viz Accessibility Gap - By Johny Cassidy

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Bridging Journalism’s Data Viz Accessibility Gap - By Johny Cassidy

13 Jan 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic there was no shortage of news about the spread of the virus, but it was the charts, graphs and other data-visualisations amplified by newsrooms across the world that made the severity of the situation plain to see. [...] If we return to the example of the wheelchair user who needs a ramp to get into the restaurant, what does it mean if the ramp is round back with the bins and delivery vans? Yes, the restaurant is acceptably compliant, but is that really a positive user experience? It is the same for digital accessibility. [...] You think about the message you’re trying to send, and you pick the correct chart type, the right subset of the data, the correct framing, the clearest symbols, and the pithiest prose to craft your message. [...] Fleet believes this is due to the lack of awareness of the benefits of tactile representations and thinks the blind community need to do more to push for wider adoption of the technology. [...] In both cases, while several fluctuations can be observed, the key message is about the value of the pound or the yield on the date the mini-budget was announced, and on 17 October, when the article was published.

Authors

BY JOHNY CASSIDY

Pages
43
Published in
United Kingdom