Karina Sturm

Karina Sturm is a multimedia journalist and filmmaker from Germany who has lived in San Francisco for seven years. She gained significant scientific knowledge through studying laboratory technology and working in research for several years. Due to a chronic illness and invisible disability, she found her passion for media production and has been working as a freelance journalist since 2013. In 2019, she finished her Master’s degree by producing a feature-length documentary called ”We Are Visible” to highlight how to improve reporting on people with disabilities in media. ”We Are Visible” has won several movie awards, while Karina graduated with distinction from her journalism program. Karina’s main focus is to represent people with illnesses and disabilities accurately in the media to reduce biases and stereotypes. She thinks disabled journalists should be reporting on disability.

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Karina Sturm ist eine Multimedia-Journalistin und Filmemacherin aus Deutschland, die seit sieben Jahren in San Francisco lebt. Durch ein Studium der Labortechnik und eine mehrjährige Tätigkeit in der Forschung erwarb sie wichtige wissenschaftliche Kenntnisse. Aufgrund einer chronischen Krankheit und einer unsichtbaren Behinderung entdeckte sie ihre Leidenschaft für die Medienproduktion und arbeitet seit 2013 als freie Journalistin. Im Jahr 2019 schloss sie ihr Masterstudium mit der Produktion eines abendfüllenden Dokumentarfilms mit dem Titel "We Are Visible" ab, um aufzuzeigen, wie die Berichterstattung über Menschen mit Behinderungen in den Medien verbessert werden kann. "We Are Visible" hat mehrere Filmpreise gewonnen, und Karina hat ihr Journalismusstudium mit Auszeichnung abgeschlossen. Karinas Hauptanliegen ist es, Menschen mit Krankheiten und Behinderungen in den Medien richtig abzubilden, um Vorurteile und Stereotypen abzubauen. Sie ist der Meinung, dass Journalist*innen mit Behinderung über Behinderung berichten sollten.


 

Interview Transcription: 

MJ: Ehm and the first question, which again, I’ll type in the chat is: What is access for you? And also provide what I believe is the German translation.

KS: (Laughing) Kind of ja (laughter) ok let me think for a second…ehm… I think the german translation is Barrierefreiheit I think so you basically mean accessibility mostly right?

MJ: Yeah.

KS: Ok. Barrierefreiheit bedeutet für mich, dass ich Zugang habe zu allen Sachen, zu denen nicht behinderte Menschen auch Zugang haben, ähm speziell in meinem Fall hat es viel mit meinem Beruf als Journalistin zu tun, ich würde mir wünschen, dass ich als Journalistin genau solche Jobs kriegen kann wie nicht behinderte ohne ähm dass ich für meine Behinderung ständig verurteilt werde oder mich rechtfertigen muss.

MJ: Great thank you.

KS: Did that makes sense?

MJ: It will to me in a couple of months (laughs) once I translate. Ähm the second question is what is care for you and again I attempt to provide my translation.

KS: Do you mean care in terms of like caretaking or like how do you define care?

MJ: More… I mean I’m kind of intentionally leaving it vague like more just a concept of care…

KS: Concept of care (laughing)

MJ: Receiving care, giving care, really what it kinda means for you.

KS: Ich würde mir wünschen, dass Pflege mit Selbstbestimmung kommt, gerade in Deutschland heißt Pflege oft das Menschen in Einrichtungen also in Pflegeheimen leben oder abgeschoben werden kann man auch sagen, und dass dort sämtliche Selbstbestimmung entzogen wird und ich würde mir wünschen das wir vor allem in Deutschland auch mehr lernen dass Menschen mit Behinderungen dieselben Rechte haben wie nicht behinderte Menschen und vor allem ein Recht auf Selbstbestimmung in jedem Bereich.

MJ: Mhm, great thank you, and the third question is: What is interdependence for you.

KS: (laughing) Oh my gosh, I don’t even know if there is a German word for that.

MJ: When I looked it up the word, I found is very similar.

KS: Ok I need to google the definition of the English word because I don’t really know what it means in German (laughing)…of two or more people or things on each other… oh my gosh that’s how you are asking tough questions…ich glaube das alle Menschen in irgendeiner Form voneinander abhängig sind, weil… ok, I need to reframe that because that’s like in German it doesn’t really make any sense what I wanna say. It’s really hard to think in English and then speak in German (laughing).

MJ: Yeah I’m sorry I hope not too (laughing)

KS:

Ok, let me think… ich glaube dass wir alle voneinander abhängig sind als Menschen unabhängig davon ähm wo ein Mensch herkommt, welche Behinderung die Person hat oder welche anderen Minderheiten- oder Diskriminierungsmarker eine Person vereint, am Ende vom Tag sind wir alle einfach Menschen und die Dinge die immer so dargestellt werden als wären sie für Menschen mit Behinderung wie zum Beispiel Barrierefreiheit wie zum Beispiel eine Rampe, nutzen eigentlich auch allen anderen Menschen also zum Beispiel nutzt eine Rampe genauso gut einer Frau mit einem Kinderwagen oder einer Person mit einem Kinderwagen, ähm oder älteren Menschen die keine Treppen steigen können, deswegen was viele immer vergessen ist dass es gibt nicht die Sache die nur für eine Gruppe von Menschen ist sondern am Ende vom Tag ist alles für jeden.

MJ: Great thank you, and then the last question is:

KS: (laughing) Oh god this is just getting harder, isn’t it.

MJ: It’s the last one I promise, this is my and again with all them maybe I didn’t say you can definitely not answer them too if you don’t want its totally up to you.

KS: Oh no that’s OK

MJ: And the last one is: What is cure for you?

KS: I don’t even know how to answer.. like I… can I talk a lot as well or… is there an issue?

MJ: Mhm, yeah yeah definitely, it’ll be edited down a little bit yeah, so feel free to not…yeah

KS: Ok, eine Person mit einer Behinderung die durch eine chronische Erkrankung ausgelöst wird und mit sehr vielen Einschränkungen kommt und ähm mit chronischen Schmerzen und mit wirklich täglichen starken Schmerzen bin ich oft in der Position in der ich mir natürlich Heilung wünschen würde, ähm für meine Erkrankung gibt’s aber keine Heilung zumindest noch nicht, ähm auf der anderen Seite steht aber gleichzeitig dass Behinderung und die Stereotypen rundum Behinderung also wo Menschen, ähm anderen Menschen mit be-…no, okay, let me start that again (laughing)… als ne Person mit einer chronischen Erkrankung, ähm die mit starken täglichen Schmerzen einhergeht würde ich mir oft eine Heilung für meine Erkrankung wünschen obwohl es die nicht gibt. Auf der anderen Seite ist Behinderung selbst nichts was geheilt werden muss weil es nichts fehlerhaftes oder schlechtes ist, ähm es gibt viele Stereotypen rund um Behinderung, nicht behinderte Menschen verbinden behindert sein oft mit was schlechtem was geheilt werden muss was minderwertig ist, ähm aber das ist falsch, und deswegen steh ich mit chronischer Krankheit und Behinderung immer irgendwo im Konflikt zwischen diesen beiden Seiten, weil ich mir natürlich für mich wünschen würde das ich nicht jeden Tag schmerzen hab und nicht konstant mehr Einschränkungen durch meine Erkrankung in Kauf nehmen müsste, aber auf der anderen Seite will ich auch das nicht behinderte Menschen verstehen das Behinderung nichts Schlechtes ist was man heilen muss…

MJ: Great thank you so much

KS: Ok, I think that was a decent answer (laughing).

MJ: Ok, no I am sure they were all great… awesome and that’s where all the questions and I’ll stop the recording.


English translation

Cleaned version

MJ: Ehm and the first question, which again, I'll type in the chat is: What is access for you? And also provide what I believe is the German translation.

KS: (Laughing) Kind of yeah (laughter) ok let me think for a second...uhm... I think the german translation is Barrierefreiheit I think so you basically mean accessibility mostly, right?

MJ: Yeah.

KS: Ok. Accessibility for me means that I have access to all the things that non-disabled people have access to, especially in my case it has a lot to do with my job as a journalist, I would like to be able to get the same jobs as a journalist as non-disabled people without being constantly judged or having to justify my disability.

MJ: Great thank you.

KS: Did that make sense?

MJ: It will to me in a couple of months (laughs) once I translate. Um the second question is what is care for you and again I attempt to provide my translation.

KS: Do you mean care in terms of like caretaking or like how do you define care?

MJ: More... I mean I'm kind of intentionally leaving it vague like more just a concept of care...

KS: Concept of care (laughing)

MJ: Receiving care, giving care, really what it kinda means for you.

KS: My wish would be that care comes with self-determination, especially in Germany care/Pflege often means that people live in institutions, i.e. in nursing homes or are parked there, you can also say and that all self-determination is taken away from them there, and my wish, especially in Germany, would be that we learn that people with disabilities have the same rights as non-disabled people, and above all a right to self-determination in every area.

MJ: Mhm, great thank you, and the third question is: What is interdependence for you.

KS: (laughing) Oh my gosh, I don't even know if there is a German word for that.

MJ: When I looked it up the word, I found is very similar.

KS: Ok I need to google the definition of the English word because I don't really know what it means in German (laughing)...of two or more people or things on each other...oh my gosh that's how -- you are asking tough questions...I think that all people are interdependent in some way because...ok, I need to reframe that because that's like in German it doesn't really make any sense what I want to say. It's really hard to think in English and then speak in German (laughing).

MJ: Yeah, I'm sorry I hope not too (laughing)

KS: Ok, let me think... I think that we are all interdependent as human beings regardless of um where a person comes from, what disability the person has or what other minority group they belong to or how aspects that lead to them being discriminated intersect, at the end of the day we are all just human beings and the things that are always portrayed as being for people with disabilities like for example accessibility, like for example a ramp, actually benefit all other people as well, so for example a ramp benefits a woman with a stroller just as much, or a person with a stroller, or elderly people who can't climb stairs, so what a lot of people always forget is that there's not one thing that's just for one group of people, but at the end of the day it's all for everyone.

MJ: Great thank you, and then the last question is:

KS: (laughing) Oh God this is just getting harder, isn't it.

MJ: It's the last one I promise, this is my and again with, all them maybe I didn't say you can definitely not answer them, too, if you don't want it’s totally up to you.

KS: Oh no that's okay.

MJ: And the last one is: What is cure for you?

KS: I don't even know how to answer... like I... can I talk a lot as well or... is there an issue?

MJ: Hm, yeah yeah definitely, It'll be edited down a little bit yeah, so feel free to not...yeah

KS: Okay, as a person with a disability that is triggered by a chronic illness and comes with a lot of limitations and with chronic pain and with really severe daily pain, I'm often in the position where of course I would wish for a cure. For my illness there is no cure at least not yet -- on the other hand at the same time there’s disability and the stereotypes around disability, so where people, um other people with dis-... no, okay, let me start that again (laughing)... as a person with a chronic disease, um, that comes with a lot of daily pain, I often wish for a cure for my disease even though it doesn't exist. On the other hand, disability itself is not something that needs to be cured because it is not something faulty or bad -- there are many stereotypes around disability, non-disabled people often associate being disabled with something bad that needs to be cured, that is inferior, but that is wrong, and that's why with chronic illness and disability I'm always somewhere in conflict between these two sides, because of course I would like for myself not to be in pain every day and not to have to constantly accept more limitations because of my illness, but on the other hand I also want non-disabled people to understand that disability is not a bad thing that needs to be cured...

MJ: Great thank you so much

KS: Ok, I think that was a decent answer (laughing).

MJ: Ok, no I am sure they were all great... awesome and that's where all the questions and I'll stop the recording.

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