The challenges faced by news outlets and their teams are well documented: vanishing print subscriptions, limited ad revenue, the domineering whims of search and social media, and doing more reporting with fewer resources. Maybe these are all too real for you and your organization.
But one topic rarely explored is the connection between these challenges and accessibility. As teams like yours strive to meet deadlines, retain readership, and thrive financially, protecting the accessibility of a website can easily become a footnote in day-to-day publishing operations. The result? Some of your news consumers may be inadvertently left behind.
No matter how well-intentioned your team may be, disregarding accessibility leads to consequences simply too great to ignore. By limiting the audience for every piece of content you publish, you’re also exposing your organization to legal action that is both costly and damaging to your brand.
Thinking about accessibility is challenging, and it feels like an extra step when each move you and your team make comes at the expense of another. But with the right know-how and expert guidance when needed, you can ensure your news outlet provides an inclusive experience to all readers.
Why Media Organizations Struggle to Adopt Accessibility Standards
Providing an accessible website for your audience is a collaborative endeavor that extends beyond design and development. Content teams play a pivotal role in creating and maintaining digital experiences that meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards and ensure content is usable by people with disabilities.
Yet several factors can contribute to why News Media Organizations struggle to deliver inclusive website experiences for every audience. Which of these applies to your teams?
- Dwindling Resources due to Steep Declines in Subscriptions and Ad Revenue: Your teams are stretched thin, often forced to prioritize content production over accessibility considerations.
- Time Pressure: To stay competitive, you have to publish quickly and consistently. These deadline demands leave little room for implementing accessibility features.
- Lack of Expertise: Without proper training and consistent care, even the most well-intentioned organizations will fall short of meeting WCAG standards.
- Outdated Technology: Lack of support for accessibility in legacy publishing tools transform best practices into a tedious, manual undertaking.
You may be facing one or all of these hurdles, but there are strategies to help you provide a more inclusive experience to your audience. Whether through AI-assisted technology or consulting with experts who can guide you toward compliance while supporting the day-to-day realities of your publishing demands, you can accommodate accessibility with a few targeted steps.
Streamlining Accessibility
The initial question you need to answer is: Where do responsibilities for maintaining accessibility typically fall in your organization?
If individual writers are responsible for fulfilling each requirement as they format articles, these details are vulnerable to being missed as deadline pressure mounts. And if your organization has directed content teams to monitor accessibility, their schedules may prevent them from keeping informed of best practices. Consider centralizing these responsibilities by creating a dedicated role focused on accessibility compliance.
If this is not financially feasible, leveraging technology also offers a way to significantly ease the burden on your team. AI-powered tools can assist with auto-populating details such as alt text into your publishing system. However, maintaining human oversight is crucial to protecting your website’s user experience. AI is best-suited to augment your team’s nuanced understanding of a story and its context — not replace it.
Working with an external agency partner can bring specific advantages. You gain timely expertise and a vital ally to help prioritize accessibility in your day-to-day operations. For example, our team includes designers, developers, and strategists who are passionate about accessibility and understand the challenges facing media organizations aiming to keep up with these requirements. Put simply, we’re here to help.
We can ensure your organization has the tools to provide and maintain an inclusive digital experience. By eliminating technological barriers and creating an understanding of accessibility, a more usable website becomes a collaborative, ongoing priority for your teams.
Five Key Accessibility Requirements for News Websites
By prioritizing and integrating a few key practices, your organization can significantly improve inclusivity and compliance with accessibility standards.
1. Alt Text for Visual Content
Alt text isn’t just a compliance checkbox — it’s a vital communication channel. Aim for descriptions under 500 characters that capture the image’s context, purpose, and significance, including its medium (e.g., “line drawing” or “moody black-and-white photo”).
2. Structural Heading Hierarchy
Headings are essential navigational landmarks, especially for those using screen readers. Your story pages should always use a logical, hierarchical structure that provides clear architecture to make content easily navigable for all users.
3. Distinctive Page Titling
Each page on your website must have a unique and informative title. Avoid generic titles that could disorient users, particularly those relying on assistive technologies. For example, instead of “Monthly Concert Calendar,” use a more informative title like “Monthly Concert Calendar: January 2025.”
4. Meaningful Link Text
In-line text links should be self-explanatory, enabling users to understand the destination and purpose without additional context. Replace vague phrases like “Read More” with descriptive text like “Subscriber FAQ Page” to clearly indicate where the link will lead.
5. Multimedia Accessibility
For video content, provide accurate, synchronized captions and identify speakers when necessary. If captions are unavailable, include text summaries. For audio content, generate comprehensive transcripts and verify their results to ensure accuracy.
Empower Your News Media Organizations to Protect Accessibility
Accessibility is just one of many challenges to address in an industry beset by competitive upheaval, legacy technologies, and organizational challenges. But you don’t have to reinvent your organization’s approach to accessibility alone.
By collaborating with experts who specialize in today’s digital publishing demands, news outlets can bridge the gap between their editorial priorities and accessibility requirements. These partnerships offer several key advantages:
- Tailored solutions that integrate seamlessly with existing workflows.
- Automated tools and technologies for streamlining accessibility tasks.
- Ongoing support and guidance to keep pace with accessibility requirements.
- Training and resources to empower content, design, and development teams to maintain accessibility as a collaborative undertaking.
Working with Alley, media organizations can transform accessibility into a core strength of their digital strategy. This collaborative approach not only ensures compliance with accessibility standards but also enhances the overall user experience for all readers, regardless of their abilities.
By leveraging external expertise, you can focus on what you do best — creating compelling content for readers — while ensuring that your digital platforms remain inclusive and accessible to the widest possible audience.
If this sounds like an approach that will help your organization, let’s build something together.