Demand 100% Captioning Access with #captionTHIS and the NAD

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is proud of its active support for the #captionTHIS [2] movement. A grassroots campaign energized by the deaf and hard of hearing community, #captionTHIS is pushing for 100% captioning for online video clips, programs and movies not shown on television.

“The NAD strongly encourages all content providers, producers and promoters to ensure 100% access to captions for all online video content,” said Bobbie Beth Scoggins, NAD President. “To achieve this goal, it is more important than ever to enter an open dialogue with companies like CNN and the Food Network, and work together to secure caption access for all.”

The NAD has worked closely with individuals and organizations for captioning access, most notably on a collaborative effort with Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin [3]), the Oscar-winning actress, to address Netflix’s (@netflix [4]) lack of captioning access for Netflix online and streaming video content. Our groundbreaking work on the 21st Century Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) ensures that access to online videos for deaf and hard of hearing people is greatly improved. However, many videos on the Internet are still not required to be captioned. To learn more about what is and is not included in the CVAA, read our recent article on the CVAA [5].

“The NAD expresses our heartfelt thanks to individuals and organizations who were active during the #captionTHIS day of action on June 6, 2012,” said NAD President Scoggins. Adam Jarashow (@sirLevis [6]) and Megan Malzkuhn (@megmalz [7]) created a viral video to promote the #captionTHIS campaign, which can be seen here [8]. The NAD, through our Twitter account, continues to support the #captionTHIS movement, strive for 100% access to captions for all online video content, and promote awareness of captioning issues.

The #captionTHIS campaign has been effective at addressing captioning accessibility on many different platforms and mediums. As of right now, companies like American Airlines (@AmericanAir [9]), JetBlue (@jetblue [10]), United Airlines (@united [11]), AllRecipes (@AllRecipes [12]), the San Diego Chargers (@chargers [13]), GoDaddy (@GoDaddy [14]), AMC Theaters (@amctheatres [15]) and PBS (@PBS [16]) have responded to #CaptionTHIS tweets. The NAD is committed to working with these companies to improve captioning accessibility. Smaller content providers have also pledged their support, and indicated that they will caption all of their content going forward. The NAD encourages you to thank these companies and providers for taking this significant step as part of the #captionTHIS movement.

Far from over, the #captionTHIS campaign continues to make an impact in the social media stratosphere. The #captionTHIS movement, while popular on Twitter, is open to everyone regardless of their preferred social media outlet. Write and send letters to your favorite television show producers asking them to caption all online video content not shown on television. Sign this important petition on Change.org [17] and ask CNN (@CNN [18]) for 100% captioning access for all. Share the petition on Facebook, Twitter, and via email to all of your friends and family members.

Get involved! Visit our #captionTHIS Advocacy TooltKit [19]. For more information and breaking-news updates about the NAD and #captionTHIS, keep an eye on the NAD twitter feed at @NADTweets [20].