Parisian Phoenix Publishing

I had a meeting with a writer earlier this week, and she mentioned that meeting me in the setting where we connected seemed like a message from the universe. She had just finished the YA fantasy book that she had been working on for four years.

And I have similar feelings about a panel I attended Friday to discuss coverage of disability in journalism. Before I talk about the event and how interesting and exciting it was, let me tell you how I got there and how I brought a friend.

I have a general policy of avoiding saying no. I will have coffee or a phone call with anybody with no concern about the value of my time or how it might benefit me. Because in life, you never know who might remember you or who might have useful insight. I have clients now because of relationships I had twenty years ago, and if we make our connections based solely on who will benefit us short term we risk never making connections that may pan out in the long-term.

I belong to an on-line writing group for people with disabilities. The group has its roots as a support system for blind writers, and my blind friend has been a member for years. I help Nancy with her typing and submission processes and sometimes her email. During the decade Nan and I have worked together, she has shared information from the group and we have read anthologies the group has put together. I feel like I know these people. So, I figured I might as well join.

They posted an opportunity to talk with journalists about disability coverage in the media. As a journalist, this definitely intrigued me. I contacted the organizer, with no expectations of anything other than a good conversation. When she replied, I googled her credentials. Because while I might eagerly say yes to requests, I also like to know what I am getting into.

The organizer was from the National Center on Disability and Journalism at the Walter Kronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. And they offered us a stipend for our time.

The panel included eight journalists and eight people with disabilities, but I think most (if not all) of the people with disabilities also worked in journalism– which was amazing because it made it really hard to know who was a journalist and who was a ‘subject.’

The journalists present had experience with media outlets like Washington Post, NPR, Arizona Daily Star, and Wall Street Journal. I got to attend a Zoom call with Joseph Shapiro and Amy Silverman!

Between all of us, we had various experiences in print, radio and multi-media journalism, various degrees of work in advocacy and activism, and knowledge of a wide arena of disabilites as individuals and as parents.

The night before the panel, I reached out to the organizer to confirm the time and she asked me if I knew anyone who might like to join the panel as someone had dropped out last minute. I listed all my friends and peers whom I knew had disabilities and the organizer selected one. I contacted her and she said she could do it. She also had journalism experience, and experience as an advocate, so while she had some questions, she also was unafraid to say yes. Perhaps I should call her and explain…

All because I took a chance and said yes.