Images of Disability on Television

First published in 1992, Images of Disability on Television examines the frequency and nature of disability on British and American television and how it is perceived and presented by programme makers. Attitudes held by those closest to the issues – disabled people, their carers, and television producers and writers – are presented as the result of interviews and discussions. There is an increasingly strong sentiment that television has got it wrong as far as disability is concerned and does not play its proper role in allowing the non-disabled to understand fully the world of disabled people. This book provides information to promote greater understanding of the needs of the disabled people in television portrayal and opens up possibilities for a change in attitudes. It will be valuable reading for students, researchers and lecturers in the social sciences, communication studies, and media studies.

Guy Cumberbatch and Ralph Negrine