Abstract

Africa, a developing continent, is home to a high number of disabled people with about one in ten Africans living with some form of disability. Disability is a prominent phenomenon here—you cannot hide it. This obvious manifestation notwithstanding, the news media in Africa are yet to find disability issues newsworthy enough, let alone devote a tangible amount of coverage to them. In filling this void therefore, this chapter presents a comprehensive picture of what narratives shape disability stories when they make it onto the news agenda; why disability issues are being ignored; and how to make right the wrongs of several decades of “disability marginalization” in the news media.