Media without limits
As technology has changed, so has the way we obtain information. For people with audio and visual impairments, our new media diet—which is increasingly reliant on visual and online media—presents constant barriers to access. We started addressing those challenges back in the seventies, when we invented closed captioning; that was just the beginning.
We continue to pioneer new solutions to ensure that everyone can benefit from innovations in media. To make media more accessible, we’re setting captioning standards on every new device and technology that comes along and have developed free software to let anyone caption anything. We’ve given people with visual impairments the chance to experience an eclipse in real time through descriptive narration (another GBH invention), enjoy TV via audio descriptions, and access the content that informs our everyday lives. If that sounds incredible, it’s only because it hadn’t been done before—something that will never stop us.
Accessibility Statement
WGBH is committed to facilitating the accessibility and usability of its website for people with disabilities. Working with our in-house accessibility experts, The National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM) , GBH will be implementing over time the relevant portions of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level AA (WCAG 2.0 AA) as its web accessibility standard. The National Center for Accessible Media at WGBH (NCAM) will conduct website accessibility audit(s), provide related consulting, and provide WGBH with specific recommendations to facilitate website accessibility and conformance with WCAG 2.0 AA standards.Please be aware that our efforts are ongoing. If, at any time, you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of our website, or if you’d like additional assistance please contact us at [email protected] or by phone at 617-300-3400. If you do encounter an accessibility issue, please be sure to specify the webpage in your email, and we will make all reasonable efforts to make that page accessible for you.
If Closed Captioning Is Missing From A Program:
Please report any closed captioning concerns to us at [email protected]
If you wish to send your concern by mail, please send the message to:
Broadcast Operations
GBH
1 Guest Street
Boston, MA 02135
In your message, please include:
- Your name and contact information
- The name of the program that was missing the closed captions, or, if that is not possible, descriptions of the theme of the program
- The device (e.g. Flatscreen TV, Smart Phone, Laptop), software or browser used to view the program
- The date, time and channel of your viewing
- Your preferred method for response
You can expect a response to an email in 48 hours; by mail, 14 days after receipt.
Closed Captioning Quality Certification:
All programming provided by WGBH ("GBH") complies with the closed captioning requirements established by the Federal Communications Commission as embodied in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1, including regulations concerning closed captioning quality. Programming provided by GBH complies with these regulations by either: (i) satisfying the caption quality standards set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(j)(2); (ii) adopting and following the “Video Programmer Best Practices” set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(k)(1); or (iii) being subject to one or more of the captioning exemptions set forth in 47 C.F.R. § 79.1(d), including programming for which the audio is in a language other than English or Spanish and that is not scripted programming that can be captioned using the “electronic news room” technique; interstitial material, promotional announcements, and public service announcements that are 10 minutes or less in duration; and/or programming that consists primarily of non-vocal music.