Barriers in the Media: „After all, Millions of People with Hearing Impairment Pay TV Licenses“

Geesken Wörmann is the chairman of the Federal State Council for the Handicapped in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and member of the broadcasting council of the German public radio station WDR. She talked to REHACARE.de about the right for information of all citizens, American sanctions and the need to catch up for private radio stations.01/06/2009

Even though people with a handicap appear more often on the TV screen than a few years ago, they are often denied access to the information and entertainment provided by German media. Subtitles, descriptive comments or sign language interpreters – an exception on the screen.

Geesken Wörmann is the chairman of the Federal State Council for the Handicapped in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and member of the broadcasting council of the German public radio station WDR. She is currently fighting to make all media 100 per cent accessible for all. She talked to REHACARE.de about the right for information of all citizens, American sanctions and the need to catch up for private radio stations.

REHACARE.de: Mrs Wörmann, Germany denies thousands of people with a hearing impairment almost completely their right for information provided by TV. How does a country - so advanced and modern - still achieves to neglect so many people?

Geesken Wörmann: That truly is an unbelievable condition. Even though the situation has started to improve with the public stations such as WDR, ARD and ZDF, it overall is just not sufficient. We need to achieve that all programs be presented with subtitles. After all, twelve million people with hearing impairment pay their TV licenses in Germany.

REHACARE.de: Why are subtitles, descriptive comments and sign language interpreters so important?

Wörmann: The public stations are obligated to provide access to the media. The citizen's right for information is regulated by a certain broadcasting law. The public stations' task applies to everybody - without exception.

REHACARE.de: The German media scene could take a leaf out of other countries' books.

Wörmann: Yes, an adequate law has been regulating the media scene for many years in the US and Great-Britain, for example, specifying access for all - also the access to TV. A radio station ignoring these directives is subject to legal sanction in the US which means paying a fine.

REHACARE.de: The situation in Germany is different?

Wörmann: Since 2002 the equal participation for people with a disability is stipulated in a law against discrimination. A UN Convention concerned with the rights of people with a disability that has been signed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel demands that all media have to abolish barriers that hinder the access to information and communication. These law finally provide a basis for change. However, nobody is considering sanctions in the case of noncompliance.

REHACARE.de: What about the private radio stations?

Wörmann: The private ones mostly do not offer any subtitles at all. The public radio stations have been explicitly mentioned in the law against discrimination - this does not apply to the private ones.

REHACARE.de: Why do private radio stations attach so little importance to accessibility for all?

Wörmann: I do not know but I guess it has to do with ratings. Maybe the ones responsible do not think that ratings can be improved with the help of subtitles. I think they are not aware of the high number of people relying on subtitles: in North Rhine-Westphalia alone, the number of people with a hearing impairment is approximately three million.

The interview was conducted by Natascha Mörs.
REHACARE.de

Related Articles

• Rating Physicians: „We Need to Prevent Conditions like those on American Idol”
• „As if a Pedestrian Should Judge a Car Driving Past“
• Barriers in the Media: „After all, Millions of People with Hearing Impairment Pay TV Licenses“