Equal Access Public Media One mission: Increase accessibility in the journalism industry and in public-facing news products. Projects that put accessibility into action: • the EAPM Style and Accessibility Guide • training for journalists and media outlets and news organizations • The word magazine www.equalaccesspublicmedia.org

Our mission combines our two favorite things: accessibility and journalism.

Be sure to follow our projects on Bluesky and to check out the sites:
• @the-word.news at the-word.news
• @eapmstyleguide.org at www.eapmstyleguide.org

Revenue Rulebreaker by Lex Roman We take you behind the scenes of real small businesses and inside the stories of struggle, vulnerability and triumph of building something that is uniquely yours.

I'm running a one day special on Legends, my paid subscription for creative entrepreneurs.

Legends are people who believe the good small business media matters and who want to connect with other independent thinkers.

It's $75/yr today
www.revenuerulebreaker.com/25-off-wedne...

New open GitHub repo from ProPublica!

https://github.com/propublica/gas-ssi-toolkit

New open GitHub repo from Pudding!

I don't know what this does but it uses Svelte.

https://github.com/the-pudding/store-names

Done! Thanks for sharing that. I’m sure those stories will be a helpful preview

Thanks for the link. I gotta get my newsletter seed planted and watered but then I’ll be eyeing that subscription like 👀

I look forward to reading this! I’m so curious about *how* people make the decision to paywall their content and *what* they decide to paywall, specially in journalism

New open GitHub repo from The City!

github.com/thecityny/Habaes-Arrest-...

Journalism organizations and news outlets:

Are you using AI-generated alt text, transcripts, and closed captions? Does that really fit with your AI policy? Read this thread!

Then contact us for training: info@equalaccesspublicmedia.org

A Thread.

Something came up yesterday as I was discussing setting up training with a journalism organization.

As you all know, I like to train organizations in How To Do Accessibility Practices, not just the concept of being accessible.

One of my favorite things to start with? Alt text.

1/12

We answered some of the most common questions we receive from freelancers on Freelance Journalism Podcast. Join IIJ leaders Katherine Reynolds Lewis and Shernay Williams for this conversation that covers getting started, growing your business, setting limits, and maintaining your work life balanc...

Not sure what a freelance roundup is. Is it where someone with a broad reach encourages freelancers to pitch you?

SRCCON 2026 — Call for Participation A peer-led conference from OpenNews for journalists who want to transform their work, their organizations, and their communities.

We've got a ton of great session pitches already, but we're hungry for more and you need the extra time ... so let's make it happen. #NICAR26 folks, rejoice.

We're extending the first priority CFP deadline to March 11. Submit the form to pitch a session or request $500 in travel support!

Master the Business of Freelance Journalism April 2-May 21 Thursdays, 3-4 pm ET $199 early bird Learn from experienced journalists and entrepreneurs in our 8-week live, online course designed to help you: • Shape a balanced and profitable portfolio Strengthen your network and define your niche Build better systems for organization, time management and thriving! Nicki Mayo Emma Carew Grovum

Succeed this spring! Take the 8-week Business of Freelancing Course. You’ll learn how to ramp up your earning potential, build and sustain client relationships, and craft a next-level business plan! Register for only $199 before March 13! Learn more at theiij.com/bizsp26

hi are you a journalist who has just started freelancing, either by choice or necessity? or are you thinking about making the jump because of...well, everything?

i am helping to put on this conference next week designed with freelancers in mind and you should check it out!

theiij.com/sessions-26

Solo Together A conference for independent journalists and creators to find community and build thriving businesses March 5 and 6, 2026 – live, online 14+ hours of entrepreneurship, learning, and community-building for independent and creator journalists Register at TheIIJ.com Only $99

Get unstuck. The 2026 IIJ Freelance Conference is your ticket to sustainability: more than 14 hours of live learning, networking opportunities, and a bonus bundle of resources for only $99 theiij.com/sessions-26

Meet your #NICAR26 Fellows! Stacy Kess, Chief of Editorial at Equal Access Public Media, is gearing up for #NICAR26 the only way she knows how: with coffee. Lots of it. To prepare for all the data ses... TikTok video by IRE & NICAR

The Equal Access Public Media chief of editorial @stacykess.bsky.social is getting ready for @ire.org’s #NICAR26…

Alt text:

"I'm interested in covering stories about local governments and non-profits, particularly as they relate to neighborhood and community well-being." - Silvia Canelón

Also pictured is a data visualization of the Philadelphia skyline with building heights rendered as a radial lollipop plot

I'm thrilled to be a fellow at the #NICAR26 data journalism conference this year!

I'll also be coaching a hands-on session on #RStats data analysis + plotting using #tidyverse packages. 📊
Maybe I'll see you there! 👇🏽
schedules.ire.org/nicar-2026/#...

#ddj @ire.org

NICAR 2026 schedule | March 4-7, 2026 | Indianapolis Welcome to the NICAR 2026 schedule! Browse sessions, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors.

1/8 So you're excited to go to the @ire.org 2026 NICAR data journalism conference!

And you want to follow all the speakers online. This tutorial will show you how do this quickly with #Rstats and @bsky.app.

schedules.ire.org/nicar-2026/#/

spongebob is writing on a piece of paper with a pen . Alt: SpongeBob taking notes on a notepad

😂

We are fully on opposite ends of the journalism jargon knowledge spectrum. I only just learned what a clip is last year 😄

What a wonderful overview. Thank you Stacy!

Do No Harm Guide: Centering Accessibility in Data Visualization This third volume in the Do No Harm Guide series from the Urban Institute seeks to provide in-depth lessons on how to create visualization products…

I hope it has that effect!
I enjoy reading about alt text in different contexts bc I’ve learned the context always matters.

If you’re not familiar with it, you might like ch 4 of this guide, which is all about alt text for data viz: www.urban.org/research/pub...

Also, what’s a news budget???

Great post by @stacykess.bsky.social @equalaccesspublicmedia.org on how to write #AltText in a journalism context 👇🏽

FYI for those new to journalism terms (like me!): a "cutline" is a caption that accompanies photos and other visuals, often placed underneath the visual.

#a11y

Accessibility is Black History - The Word What Haben Girma and a longer lineage of Black advocates teach us about access

February cover story: Accessibility is Black History

Akinyele Akintomiwa Michael takes a walk through time and finds you can't have accessibility without Black leaders — from Brad Lomax to @habengirma.bsky.social — pushing the boundaries for access and innovation.

the-word.news/2026/0205/bl...

Glad to be doing this with @mikalarae.bsky.social @halle-burns.bsky.social @quetzal1234.bsky.social @katscade.bsky.social @nurnberger.bsky.social @storytracer.com @te-gryn.bsky.social Such a great team!

dplyr 1.2.0 dplyr 1.2.0 fills in some important gaps in dplyr's API: we've added a new complement to `filter()` focused on dropping rows, and we've expanded the `case_when()` family with three new recoding and re...

dplyr 1.2.0 is out now and we are SO excited!

- `filter_out()` for dropping rows

- `recode_values()`, `replace_values()`, and `replace_when()` that join `case_when()` as a complete family of recoding/replacing tools

These are huge quality of life wins for #rstats!

tidyverse.org/blog/2026/02...

Quilicura, Chile, one of the communities I wrote about in EMPIRE OF AI, has launched a brilliant initiative to inspire more responsible AI prompting. Today, don't use AI; ask the townspeople instead: quili.ai. So heartened to see this creative act of resistance.

Inside an AI start-up’s plan to scan and dispose of millions of books Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.

Absolutely damning from @aaronschaffer.com, @willoremus.com, & @nitasha.bsky.social.

To get more data, Anthropic:
* "destructively scanned" millions of books
* downloaded the shadow library LibGen
* hailed another shadow library's arrival as "just in time!!!"

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...