Category Archives: media & communication

Race and the media

I’ve been thinking since the Harry and Meghan interview and the subsequent debate sparked by the nonsensical claim from the Society of Editors that UK media isn’t bigoted.

An (older, male) editor once asked why I wanted to be an ‘Asian journalist’ when I started out in newspapers (to be clear – the question didn’t need the word ‘Asian’ in it). Later, I was asked to write about arranged marriages as the editor thought this was a topic I ‘must surely know about’. It wasn’t, nor was in my reporting brief, so I declined.

How can any professional body say there’s no bigotry in the sector it represents? There have been so many examples of questionable headlines and reporting, and obviously journalists of colour have had – and continue to have – far worse experiences than the two personal ones I’ve just shared (today, these might be called ‘unconscious bias’?).

The Society of Editors’ board has issued a new statement to clarify the original from Monday. The original ‘did not reflect what we all know: that there is a lot of work to be done in the media to improve diversity and inclusion’.

And that should be diversity of all kinds.

The press awards, in which I was shortlisted for my work on disability issues, have rightly been postponed. Several excellent journalists and news organisations had pulled out, as well as the awards host.

Along with many other journalists of colour, I added my name to two open letters calling for more action on the issue.


Learning disability in the mainstream media

Raana Salman baking. Photo: Nicola Bensley

In a piece for the Byline Times, I call for a more accurate reflection the lives of those with learning disabilities in society and the media, and explains how my new book of essays, written by learning disabled people, aims to change the narrative.

Say the words “learning disability” to most people and they will probably think of headlines about care scandals or welfare cuts. That’s if they think of anything at all.

The latest figures from NHS England show that 451 people who have died from the Coronavirus since 24 March were recorded as having a learning disability or autism. According to the Care Quality Commission, there has been a 175% increase in unexpected deaths among this group of people compared to last year.

Mainstream media coverage of the Coronavirus reflects a nonchalance. Give or take the odd exception, the reporting has failed to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on the UK’s 1.5 million learning disabled people like my youngest sister Raana.

Outside of COVID-19, if learning disability issues hit the headlines, they usually reinforce stereotypes about “vulnerable people” unable to fend for themselves. And when a story makes the media, it rarely includes direct words from someone with a learning disability.

This is the reason for the book Made Possible: Stories of Success by People with Learning Disabilities. The anthology, which I edited, challenges stereotypes through the stories of people whose achievements are awe-inspiring – regardless of their disability. They describe, in their own words, what needs to happen for learning disabled people to reach their potential. The powerful first-person experiences are from a human rights campaigner, a critically acclaimed actor, a civil rights activist, a singer-songwriter, an elite swimmer, a fine artist, an award-wining filmmaker and an elected mayor.

Read the rest of the article, first published in June, here

Made Possible: Shaun’s story

Human rights campaigner Shaun Webster, in Made Possible, stories of success by people with learning disabilities – in their own words

A complete joy working with campaigner Shaun Webster, who describes his life in my upcoming book ‘Made Possible, stories of success by people with learning disabilities.’

Shaun, who I filmed with pre-lockdown, explains what drives him and how he defied those who told him he’d never achieve anything.

Made Possible shows how and why people’s potential should be supported, and that we all benefit when this happens. It couldn’t be a more apt book for our current times.

Pre-order Made Possible from the usual booksellers like https://amzn.to/3fMJMXh or see if your local bookstore can order it for you. For updates, follow #MadePossible and @Saba_Salman on Twitter and Instagram and the Facebook.

Changing the perception of learning disability

Raana Salman baking. Photo: Nicola Bensley

Say the words “learning disability” to most people and they will probably think of headlines about care scandals or welfare cuts. That’s if they think of anything at all.

As I write in a new piece for Byline Times, the latest figures from NHS England show that more than 450 people who have died from the Coronavirus since 24 March were recorded as having a learning disability or autism. According to the Care Quality Commission, there has been a 175% increase in unexpected deaths among this group of people compared to last year.

Mainstream media coverage of the Coronavirus reflects a nonchalance. Give or take the odd exception, the reporting has failed to acknowledge the impact of the pandemic on the UK’s 1.5 million learning disabled people like my youngest sister Raana.

Outside of COVID-19, if learning disability issues hit the headlines, they usually reinforce stereotypes about “vulnerable people” unable to fend for themselves. And when a story makes the media, it rarely includes direct words from someone with a learning disability.

This is the reason for the book Made Possible: Stories of Success by People with Learning Disabilities. The anthology, which I edited and which is inspired by my sister, Raana, challenges stereotypes. The collection of essays does this through the stories of people whose achievements are awe-inspiring – regardless of their disability. 

To read the rest of my piece, go to Byline Times

coronavirus impact on deaf employees

Everyone struggles with working from home – from managing conference calls to difficulties with Zoom – but imagine what it must be like if you are deaf or have difficulty hearing.

New research by the charity Action on Hearing Loss found that three-quarters of people who live with deafness fear they will be less productive working from home.

My Guardian report explores the barriers and solutions for deaf employees and highlights the work at the Centre for Deaf Education at City Lit college.

City Lit student and deaf mental health worker Ilyaas Cader explains the impact of not being able to communicate in his first language (sign), and calls for greater use of sign language.

Read the piece here.

beautiful Minds

Featured image: Alice Hewson, youth worker and journalist, who is dyspraxic. Credit: Owen Richards for Positive News

Rather than simply accepting people with neurodiverse conditions like autism or dyslexia, what if we recognised their hidden talents?

Positive News has just posted my article about this issue. I heard from four neurodiverse on how the way their brains work has been key to their success.

As Alice, pictured above, says: “I’ve encountered difficulties that other people don’t have to deal with, and that’s made me incredibly caring. I can put myself in someone else’s situation. I respond in a very different way to people who aren’t neurodiverse.”

You can read the entire piece here

MAde possible: in hardback

Book news: the hardbacks of my upcoming book, Made Possible, are now at the offices of my publisher, Unbound.

Copies will soon be in the hands of all of the great people who backed these first editions and therefore helped bring this book into the world.

The paperback’s out in May and is now available to pre-order from the usual places, like Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells and Amazon.

In a nutshell, the book is 200 pages that challenge assumptions and it’s packed with power, joy, potential, humanity, humour and much more.

You can find out more about the background to the book on my publisher’s website and in this Guardian piece.

Happy Christmas 2018

My youngest sister Raana (left) – cheers and merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Season’s greetings to everyone – this is me with my sister Raana, thanking everyone who’s collaborated on stories, projects and posts this past year – here’s to more of the same in 2019.

Big thanks also to all of you who’ve supported or helped publicise the crowdfunded book I’m editing, Made Possible, about the talents of people with learning disabilities. It’s
partly inspired by my sister, who has the learning disability fragile X syndrome, and aims to shatter the lazy stereotypes we have about learning disability.

There’s been a welcome focus in the media recently on learning disability, thanks largely to the determination of campaigning families, but there’s a huge amount left to do. People are still subjected to inequalities in health, housing, employment and attitudes, 2,350 autistic and learning disabled people are still stuck in “assessment and treatment centres” – despite the government’s long-standing promise to move them into proper housing in communities.

Here’s hoping 2019 will bring more action, instead of just more rhetoric, as I’ve written before, and the people who have to spend the festive break in inpatient care are reunited with their families soon.

News on my book, Made Possible

With my sister Raana (left), who has fragile X syndrome and who has influenced my book Made Possible.

Just over a year ago I launched the crowdfunding campaign for Made Possible – and now I’m delighted to say that I’ve just delivered the manuscript to the publisher, Unbound.

And I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t stress it enough – I’m hugely grateful to everyone who has backed Made Possible, or who has shared news about its progress to ensure it gets made.

It still amazes me to think that this project – a collection of essays on success by people with learning disabilities – was fully funded within just six weeks. The speed with which the book hit its funding target proves how much this stereotype-shattering title is needed.

There are 1.5m people with learning disabilities in the UK today but people with learning disabilities aren’t asked to talk about their talent, or share the secret of their success – that’s why I wanted to create this book.

Society barely gives them lip service; they are pitied or patronsised, and rarely heard from in their own words.

Now that the manuscript’s done, I’ll be working with Unbound’s editorial team over the coming months and I’m looking forward to seeing the title take shape. People with learning disabilities face huge inequalities in everything from healthcare to education and employment (not to mention barbaric treatment, locked away in ‘care’ institutions, as reflected in recent media coverage). This book of powerful and entertaining essays by learning disabled high achievers will show an alternative approach to treating and supporting people, and the benefits of that approach.

You can find out more about the book in this Guardian piece.

Changing perceptions of learning disability: an update on my book, Made Possible

With my sister Raana (left), who has influenced my book Made Possible.

So I’ve spent the last few months working with some incredible essayists for my crowdfunded book Made Possible. The book is a collection of essays on success by (note: ‘by” and not “about”) high achieving people with learning disabilities. Some pieces are still being written while others are almost complete. I’m delighted – but not surprised – to say that the ideas and stories across the essay collection are quite astounding.

The pieces of writing cover very different successes in a range of contrasting areas like the arts, campaigning and sports. But what unites these varied essays is the fact that the writers’ voices are so honest, powerful and at times just plain funny (intentionally so). This is how Made Possible will give a two-fingered salute to the outdated perceptions that exist about learning disability. The book will not only document the hugely impressive achievements of talented people with learning disabilities, but will do so in an engaging, authentic way.

On the issue of talent, my sister Raana’s always been a creative type, from her childhood fancy dress days to her current love for woodwork and baking. When she was younger though, art was her thing, and I’m delighted that a creation she made a few years ago featured in the recent national disability conference at Lancaster University.

‘Mosaic’, by Raana Salman

The ninth biennial Lancaster Disability Conference run by the Centre for Disability Research (CeDR) incorporates Raana’s intricate Mosaic in its event information and publicity. If you follow #cedr18 and @CeDRLancs on Twitter you might get a glimpse of my sister’s handiwork which usually hangs in my hallway (so as many people as possible get to see it). Raana’s family and friends are so proud to see Mosaic shared more widely – a big thank you to Lancaster University and its Made Possible supporters for the opportunity to show more people what our sister – daughter – aunt – cousin – niece – friend – housemate – colleague- neighbour (because Raana is many things) can do.

The fact that learning disabled people’s talents are overlooked is an issue that cropped up in a recent interview I did for the Guardian. In conversation with Sam Clark, the new chief executive of campaigning organisation Learning Disability England, Sam’s words reflect what lies at the heart of my book: “We all bring gifts and talents, and I think it would be brilliant if we could understand that’s the case for everyone.”

I think it would be brilliant too. When I launched the crowdfunding campaign for Made Possible, I explained that shattering the tired stereotypes of “superhero” and “scrounger” is what drives this book. It also influences my articles on disability issues, some of which were recently shortlisted for a British Journalism Award for Specialist Media. Specialist writers cover issues that can be otherwise overlooked in mainstream media – my focus is the 1.5m people in the UK with a learning disability, the inequality they face and their untapped potential.

Thanks, as ever, to everyone who’s helping to get Made Possible published; by backing this book you’re helping create something that challenges the current narratives.

If you’ve not done so already, do link up with me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram or using the hashtag #MadePossible