For the Record prepares Barriers In Broadcasting PSA
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based For the Record Productions is preparing to shoot a 30-second multilingual public service announcement called "Barriers In Broadcasting." The ad is intended to encourage media companies to hire people with disabilities as producers, reporters, camera operators and so on. The company is collaborating on this effort with Sue Charness Talent and the Canadian Abilities Foundation. "Words and images utilized by media are incredibly important," said Ray Cohen, president of the Canadian Abilities Foundation. "Mainstream perspectives are constantly being influenced by media depiction of people with disabilities, and it is time that professionals with disabilities themselves drive the movement toward accurate portrayal of their issues." Production of the ad is being funded by Omni Television. Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic and English versions will be released for nation-wide broadcast. According to the company, people with disabilities were involved in all aspects of the production, including lighting, sound and camera.