Gracenote, owned by Nielsen, says it measures the representation of people with disabilities on television. (think stock)
It’s long been known that people with disabilities are underrepresented on television, but now prominent industry services are trying to measure trends in hopes of encouraging more inclusion.
Gracenote, owned by TV ratings giant Nielsen and aggregating and providing data on the entertainment industry, says it will begin tracking the expressions of people with disabilities on small screens.
The company measures disability representation in U.S. broadcast, cable, and streaming TV shows as part of Gracenote’s inclusion analysis, which already tracks talent’s gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. increase. Individuals are tagged as part of one or more of her six categories: neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental, visual, auditory, physical and mental health.
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Data on Indigenous peoples and people of color with disabilities will also be available, according to the company, with more parameters coming soon.
“In the United States today, more than one in four adults live with a disability, but actors without disabilities appear in television shows and movies,” said Halle Kiangfer, vice president of products at Gracenote. “Making positive change starts with measuring the diversity of talent that is characteristic of different identity groups and intersectionality. I am proud.”
Gracenote says it worked with RespectAbility, a nonprofit organization for people with disabilities, to develop the new tracking feature.
Lauren Appelbaum, senior vice president of communications and entertainment and news media at RespectAbility, said: She “hopes that the tracking representation will increase over time.”
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