disAbled in the media

When I began my pursuit of a journalism degree, I wondered how many others with disabilities had taken a similar path. Yes there are examples like my friend Scott in Florida who graduated from St. John's and there are high profile examples in people like John Hockenberry. Beyond the few examples I can cite here, I wonder why there aren't more of us in this field.

Now I'm not naive to think there aren't reasons for this. Yes it's a challenging endeavour and there are more times than not when you have to flat out work your ass off. The feeling I get though from working on a story makes up for the effort expended. It may also be there is little money in the bulk of journalism. Yes there is money in the upper echelon careers but very few of us will become the next Katie Couric or Brian Williams. Being happy in a profession is more important to me than raking in the dough.

These reasons are valid but I'm hoping I can inspire others with disabilities to take the plunge and I'd be satisfied if it's even just one. The video above should be all the proof needed to show that it can be done. We as a community need to take an active role in the world around us and perhaps even to be the storytellers of important events. I'd like to wish the good folks in Chicago well as they work to inform their community. Just think of the potential if more of us got involved all around the country. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Peace...Mark