Journalism & "Inspiration Porn"

"For decades, the media has tended to portray people with disabilities (or those around them) as inspirations or heroes—a genre of reporting known as 'inspiration porn.'” writes Wendy Lu in the Columbia Journalism Review. She says, "This emotion-driven journalism is the hallmark of inspiration porn" which was "popularized in a TED talk that the late Australian activist Stella Young gave in April 2014." She pleads with journalists to "consider where a story’s newsworthiness comes from and how it contributes to overall disability coverage." Read the full article here.