The importance of describing people
As journalists we understand how integral representation is to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's public charter commitments, which is why we choose images which reflect our diverse audiences.
It's not so straightforward to offer this representation to screen reader users in text descriptions.
When describing people from different ethnic backgrounds, all text descriptions must align with current guidance in the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News style guide. This states: "race and/or ethnicity must be mentioned only when relevant. For example, it could be an important identifying factor in the case of a missing person."
This also applies to religious or cultural identifiers, like a hijab or an Afro hair style.
It's important not to infer anything through your own lived experience or unconscious bias. Be sure not to assume anything to do with age, gender, disability, or ethnicity.
Examples
Ethnicity and age
Source: Cost of living: Vegan Nottingham student designs oat milk maker
Original text description: "Deeya"
Recommended text description: "A smiling Deeya Halai looks directly into the camera whilst holding her oat milk containers in front of her. She has long straight dark hair, is wearing wide round rimmed glasses and is sitting on a sofa".
Deeya's ethnicity is not mentioned in the text description, as it's not relevant to the story. We also don't need to mention that she's young, as it says in the text of the piece that she's 22.
Painting a full picture
Source: Teens locked out of child trust funds also risk benefit cut
Original text description: "Claire Catherall with her son Ryan."
Recommended text description: "A selfie of Claire Catherall and her son Ryan smiling beside a waterway with picnic tables in the background. Claire has brown hair and sunglasses on her head, while Ryan has shoulder length hair and is wearing a blue coat".
We don't refer to Ryan as autistic as non-apparent disabilities aren't obvious from a photo.
Disabled contributor
Source: Click here: The Twitter alt text meme that isn't funny for blind people
This example relates to the second image in the piece linked to above.
Original text description: "Connor Scott-Gardner stood wearing black boots and black trousers and a navy, white and red coat and his white cane leaning against a bridge over a canal."
Recommended text description: "Connor Scott-Gardner stands on a bridge over a canal. He is wearing black boots, black trousers and a navy, white and red coat and is holding his white cane."
We don't need to say that Connor's blind. The story explains that, as does the presence of his white cane in the photo.
Don't make assumptions
Original text description: "Couple looking at bills."
Recommended text description: "A woman and a man sit at a table. The woman, who has shoulder length curly hair and a yellow top, is holding a bill which the man, who has short hair, glasses, and a white top, is looking at."
We have no idea if they are a couple or not, and we must not infer any information which isn't there visually. This also means we shouldn't describe their age or ethnicity – especially as these factors are not editorially relevant anyway.