Dis/Ability Journalism in Italy: Subjectivity Between Experience and Reflexivity

In the long-standing debate about the appropriateness and risks of subjectivity and its prominence in wide-ranging journalistic production, this paper focuses on dis/ability journalism. As an emerging but under-researched topic, dis/ability allows us to understand how social vulnerabilities are (re)constructed by journalists in the public sphere. The study aims to investigate: (a) to what extent the subjectivity of Italian journalists specialised in dis/ability orients the production of news, (b) how it is redefined in journalistic practices. To do this, 25 Italian professionals, with and without dis/ability, belonging to legacy and non-profit media were interviewed between 2021 and 2023. They were selected and reached through the networks of non-profit associations, which are accredited sources on social issues at a national level. Five facets emerged through which subjectivity operates and is constructed by professional practices (journalists’ biographies, recognition of the issue, reframing, institutionalisation, social commitment). Journalistic subjectivity on dis/ability becomes an epistemic resource linked to professional experience (with or without dis/ability) in both legacy and non-profit media. The interviewees are recognisable as “journalists of the margin”, a community of practice that, at least in its intentions, promotes an obstinate transformation of both narratives and culture.