Peter Burke
Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Accessible Media Inc.
By creating content for the blind and partially-sighted community, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) hopes to become a global leader in media accessibility.
Although we live in a media-driven culture, a lot of media content and platforms continue to be inaccessible to the blind and partially-sighted community. With vision loss being such an isolating condition, it’s vital that people in this community are included in the media.
AMI, a not-for-profit media company serving the blind and partially-sighted community in Canada, is bridging the media accessibility gap by producing content for them. “By doing that, we’re able to inform this community about opportunities, organizations, and groups they can connect with to feel more included,” says Peter Burke, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at AMI.
Evolution from content distributor to content creator
What started as a charity reading service for the visually-impaired in 1989 has evolved to a not-for-profit, bilingual, multi-platform media company that delivers content through AMI-tv, AMI-audio, AMI-télé, and the AMI-tv app. Among its key inclusivity innovations is integrated described video, where key visual elements are incorporated in the pre-production, production, and post-production phases. This makes the programming accessible to all.
As AMI shifts from content distribution to content creation, media inclusion remains top of mind in all its programming — from entertaining news programs to engaging and informative shows on business, technology, arts, and culture. “In addition, all of AMI’s on-air personalities and reporters are members of the blind and partially-sighted community, so people see themselves reflected and get a more true-to-life perspective on some of these issues,” says Burke.
