Q. I am a disabled copy editor and feel as though the multimedia wave will leave me behind. Because of my hearing loss, I cannot use an iPod or any device that requires you to use an ear bud.
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Also, I have difficulty understanding the spoken word on video segments on Web sites, which would make editing them extremely difficult. Thus, I feel as though my ability to stay current with the needs of the job will be hampered by my disability.
Are there strategies that I should be employing to make sure that my employers do not see me as an aging has-been because of my disability? I love newspapers and don't want to leave it.
Feeling Left OutA. I love newspapers and online news, too, and think you could have a lot to offer, though not in multimedia.
I would look to areas where your media experiences give you an advantage. I am thinking of Web accessibility. Excuse a little jargon here, but a key dimension of the Web experience that newspapers often stumble upon is called usability. We simply don't take enough time to make our sites user-friendly, and this costs us audience.
The Hearing Review reports that the number of Americans with some hearing loss is
expected to climb from 31.5 million to 40 million. Those with a hearing loss will have significant needs for multimedia that works for them, and we will need people who are sensitive to those issues and who can help produce it.
You could contribute mightily to users and to newspapers if you could influence Web designs to make them easier for everyone to use. Sites that address specific accessibility issues with good content will create loyal audiences. You can help with that. I'd like to recommend a book: Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think." It will introduce you to the issues of Web usability and accessibility.
Beyond that, there are several other areas in new media where you do not face limits. Newspapers need more talent in creating interactive databases. We need more people who are adept at analyzing Web traffic metrics to make our news judgment more responsive to readers' desires. And we need people who can quickly launch and evaluate new Web products.
Multimedia may have some natural barriers for you, but there are many other opportunities.
Coming Monday: Study and travel in Asia will keep her out of the United States until June. She fears it will be too late by then to begin a summer internship.
