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ITV West scraps signing for deaf on news bulletins | Bristol News | This Is Bristol
ITV West is to drop signing for the deaf during news bulletins, causing anger among viewers and campaigners.
Tomorrow will be the last time that the news headlines will be signed during bulletins, leaving an estimated 2,000 deaf people in Bristol and neighbouring areas having to rely on subtitles.
Bristol television presenter Sherrie Eugene, who was one of the first "signers" on what was then HTV back in 1982, said the decision would harm deaf people's human rights.
And Eva Fielding-Jackson, vice-chairwoman of the British Deaf Association, told the Post: "Many people in and around Bristol have been getting in touch to say how upset they are.
"People are writing to MPs, ITV and Ofcom (the TV regulator) demanding that the decision is reversed. It's making deaf people feel excluded from everyday life."
Mrs Fielding-Jackson, who lives in Bradley Stoke and is partially deaf herself – with profoundly deaf family members – said the end of signing for the deaf on ITV news was "just to save money".
She said it would affect at least 2,000 people in Bristol and thousands more in the old Avon County Council area.
ITV said it would continue with subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. But Mrs Fielding-Jackson said: "Subtitles are too fast for me."
Ms Eugene, who carried on signing on HTV until 1997 and who campaigned to have the work continued by deaf people, said: "This is a human rights issue.
"We've come a long way since deaf people were told what they should be doing. What's happened is a huge step backwards."
There were protests in Wales last week when ITV Wales stopped providing signing for the deaf with its news headlines.
Now ITV is ending its "signing" service throughout the regions that provided it, including Bristol-based ITV West.
A spokesman said the move was part of a general restructuring of ITV.
The spokesman said: "All of our news programmes and bulletins will continue to be subtitled and ITV will continue to meet the quotas (percentage of output) laid down by Ofcom, on all access services."
Access services include facilities such as signing or subtitling.
Ms Eugene said Carolyn Nabarro, who does much of the signing on ITV West, would lose her job.
Ms Nabarro told the Post the deaf community was outraged by what was happening.
Ms Eugene said: "HTV was the first to do signing back in 1979. But it was not just pioneering. We did things in a way that was ethically correct."
The service will end tomorrow at ITV West and also at the broadcaster's Border, Meridian and West Country stations
ITV West is to drop signing for the deaf during news bulletins, causing anger among viewers and campaigners.
Tomorrow will be the last time that the news headlines will be signed during bulletins, leaving an estimated 2,000 deaf people in Bristol and neighbouring areas having to rely on subtitles.
Bristol television presenter Sherrie Eugene, who was one of the first "signers" on what was then HTV back in 1982, said the decision would harm deaf people's human rights.
And Eva Fielding-Jackson, vice-chairwoman of the British Deaf Association, told the Post: "Many people in and around Bristol have been getting in touch to say how upset they are.
"People are writing to MPs, ITV and Ofcom (the TV regulator) demanding that the decision is reversed. It's making deaf people feel excluded from everyday life."
Mrs Fielding-Jackson, who lives in Bradley Stoke and is partially deaf herself – with profoundly deaf family members – said the end of signing for the deaf on ITV news was "just to save money".
She said it would affect at least 2,000 people in Bristol and thousands more in the old Avon County Council area.
ITV said it would continue with subtitles for the hard-of-hearing. But Mrs Fielding-Jackson said: "Subtitles are too fast for me."
Ms Eugene, who carried on signing on HTV until 1997 and who campaigned to have the work continued by deaf people, said: "This is a human rights issue.
"We've come a long way since deaf people were told what they should be doing. What's happened is a huge step backwards."
There were protests in Wales last week when ITV Wales stopped providing signing for the deaf with its news headlines.
Now ITV is ending its "signing" service throughout the regions that provided it, including Bristol-based ITV West.
A spokesman said the move was part of a general restructuring of ITV.
The spokesman said: "All of our news programmes and bulletins will continue to be subtitled and ITV will continue to meet the quotas (percentage of output) laid down by Ofcom, on all access services."
Access services include facilities such as signing or subtitling.
Ms Eugene said Carolyn Nabarro, who does much of the signing on ITV West, would lose her job.
Ms Nabarro told the Post the deaf community was outraged by what was happening.
Ms Eugene said: "HTV was the first to do signing back in 1979. But it was not just pioneering. We did things in a way that was ethically correct."
The service will end tomorrow at ITV West and also at the broadcaster's Border, Meridian and West Country stations