Breaking the News Barrier: Towards Understanding News Consumption Practices among BVI Individuals in India

Amidst the shift towards digital news media, the news consumption behavior of the blind and visually impaired (BVI) has undergone significant changes. Despite extensive prior work in HCI and Accessibility literature around digital media accessibility for the BVI community – digital news consumption practices among BVI individuals remain inadequately explored. This study focuses on digital news consumption practices among BVI individuals in India. We conducted semi-structured interviews and contextual inquiry with 17 participants, revealing diverse motivations rooted in social mobility and belongingness. Participants disclosed navigational barriers, such as dynamic advertisements, and consequently relied on volunteer-driven ad-free newspapers as a stopgap. While news source preferences were shaped by interface accessibility, factors like neutrality and coverage played a crucial role too. Our findings highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of BVI users’ experiences and inform implications and recommendations for designing accessible digital news platforms.