Access all areas

X-URL: http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story664.html


   Access all areas

   Posted: 12 June 2003 By: Jemima Kiss

   Email: [29]jemima@journalism.co.uk

   Top UK broadcasters and media groups met in London on 12 June to
   discuss the challenges of web accessibility regulation.
   The UK Disability Discrimination Act states that all organisations
   "must make reasonable adjustments" to their services so that they are
   no longer impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to
   access. The act comes into full effect in October 2004.
   Most of the UKs biggest broadcasters are members of The Broadcasting &
   Creative Industries Disability Network (BCIDN), including the BBC and
   Channel 4. The network was founded by broadcasters in 1997 to address
   disability issues in the media industry.
   Web sites, which are included under the organisation's definition of
   'broadcasting', can present several obstacles to users with visual
   impairment or restricted mobility.
   To be more accessible, sites need to be designed to take into account
   the use of tools such as screen readers, which read text to blind
   users, and be navigable with the keyboard alone. This allows users
   with limited movement to navigate through links on a page using the
   tab key, for example, instead of a mouse.
   "BBCi has a commitment to making its output as accessible as
   reasonably possible to all audiences to fulfil its public service
   remit and to meet its requirements under the Disability Discrimination
   Act," said Jonathan Hassell, editor of standards and guidelines for
   BBC New Media.
   "In February 1999, BBC Education, in conjunction with the RNIB,
   created Betsie - a tool that automatically creates text-only version
   of web pages. This has provided a text-only version of every page on
   bbc.co.uk since that time."
   In February this year, The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) began a
   year-long investigation into web accessibility, sampling 300 websites
   across the country. Assessment is based on universal standards laid
   down by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) in their detailed Web
   Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
   In mid-2002, the BBC commissioned a study from usability consultants
   System Concepts to review the accessibility of the BBC web network,
   and is now implementing more than 50 recommendations.
   "A pan-BBC New Media Accessibility Working Group is in the process of
   reviewing all BBCi Web Standards & Guidelines to update them to
   comply, where possible, with the WAI guidelines," Mr Hassle told
   dotJournalism.
   "This study has been made available to the public (at
   [30]http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbci/websites.shtml) to inform
   and help other companies that are engaged in similar work."
   Channel 4 has also just begun a six-month project to bring its
   websites in line with WAI guidelines.
   Sources:
   [31]http://www.w3.org/WAI/
   [32]http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch
   [33]http://www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/guests/bdn/index.htm


   © [54]Mousetrap Media Ltd

References

   Visible links
   1. http://www.newsphotography.co.uk/
   2. http://www.journalism.co.uk/search.html
   3. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/
   4. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchf.html
   5. http://www.journalism.co.uk/about.htm
   6. http://www.journalistsforum.com/
   7. form field = popup menu
   8. form field = image-submit button
   9. http://www.journalism.co.uk/submit.htm
  10. http://www.journalism.co.uk/listsub.htm
  11. http://www.journalism.co.uk/jobsearch.html
  12. http://www.journalism.co.uk/media.pdf
  13. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchf.html
  14. http://www.journalism.co.uk/frpass.htm
  15. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp3.html
  16. http://www.journalism.co.uk/diary.shtml
  17. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp5.html
  18. http://www.journalism.co.uk/awards.html
  19. http://www.journalism.co.uk/events.html
  20. form field = text entry field
  21. form field = image-submit button
  22. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp8.html
  23. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp6.html
  24. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp4.html
  25. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp7.html
  26. mailto:colin@journalism.co.uk
  27. mailto:info@journalism.co.uk
  28. http://www.journalism.co.uk/about.htm
  29. mailto:jemima@journalism.co.uk
  30. http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/bbci/websites.shtml
  31. http://www.w3.org/WAI/
  32. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch
  33. http://www.employers-forum.co.uk/www/guests/bdn/index.htm
  34. http://www.journalism.co.uk/index.shtml
  35. form field = text entry field
  36. form field = text entry field
  37. form field = text entry field
  38. form field = text entry field
  39. form field = submit button
  40. form field = text entry field
  41. form field = text entry field
  42. form field = text entry field
  43. form field = radio button
  44. form field = radio button
  45. form field = image-submit button
  46. http://www.journalism.co.uk/index.shtml
  47. form field = text entry field
  48. form field = image-submit button
  49. http://www.journalism.co.uk/archive.shtml
  50. form field = text entry field
  51. form field = text entry field
  52. form field = text entry field
  53. form field = submit button
  54. http://www.mousetrapmedia.co.uk/

   Hidden links:
  55. http://www.journalism.co.uk/submit.htm
  56. http://www.journalism.co.uk/listsub.htm
  57. http://www.journalism.co.uk/jobsearch.html
  58. http://www.journalism.co.uk/media.pdf
  59. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchf.html
  60. http://www.journalism.co.uk/frpass.htm
  61. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp3.html
  62. http://www.journalism.co.uk/diary.shtml
  63. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp5.html
  64. http://www.journalism.co.uk/awards.html
  65. http://www.journalism.co.uk/events.html
  66. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp8.html
  67. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp6.html
  68. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp4.html
  69. http://www.journalism.co.uk/searchpower/html/gp7.html
  70. mailto:colin@journalism.co.uk
  71. mailto:info@journalism.co.uk
  72. http://www.journalism.co.uk/about.htm

Received on Friday, 13 June 2003 15:43:15 UTC