Deaf and Hard of Hearing Publications and News

Like any community, the deaf and hard of hearing community have (and had) its own publications. There are both independent publications and publications put out by various organizations of the deaf and hard of hearing.

Not too long after the death of the Silent News (see below), a new deaf newspaper began: SIGNews. Published by CSD (Communication Services for the Deaf), SIGNews has some of the same writers and artists who had been in the old Silent News.

Hearing Health magazine from the Deafness Research Foundation carries pieces on tinnitus, hearing aids and cochlear implants, accessibility, and much original material. There is also a medical focus, with articles on treatments for hearing loss.

Deaf Life magazine was published from 1988 until 1998, then went on hiatus for several years. It returned in January 2007 with a cover story on the Gallaudet Protest of Fall 2006.

Web-based deaf magazines have also emerged. One of them is KissFist magazine (the name itself is an ASL term meaning "I love!"). KissFist is arts-oriented, very graphical and features a lot of photography. It includes profiles of deaf people in the arts. Adobe Flash is needed to view KissFist magazine, which has a slick, professional appearance.

Kids and teens have and had their own publications. The World Around You was formerly published by Gallaudet University's Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. Plus, students around the world can enjoy Deaf Friends International, an online magazine with stories and art published in multiple languages. Deaf Friends International publishes both a senior edition with stories from adults and a junior edition with stories from teens. While Deaf Friends International is published by a religious organization, young deaf people of all faiths can enjoy the stories and videos.

In Odyssey, professionals share their successful strategies for educating deaf and hard of hearing students. Odyssey can be read online. Each issue of Odyssey, downloadable as a PDF, has a theme. For example, the Summer 2008 issue focused on autism.

Gallaudet University publishes Gallaudet Today, a magazine that not only focuses on Gallaudet alumni but also carries stories about the deaf community. On the other hand, the NTID Focus magazine primarily focuses on NTID students and alumni and changes at RIT/NTID. NTID Focus can be read online.

For the deaf studies community, there are American Annals of the Deaf, which has been around since before the Civil War ended, and the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, a scholarly journal with a mix of articles on deaf culture and academically-focused interests. JDSDE abstracts can be read free online, but only paid subscribers to have online access to full articles from current issues. Some archived articles of older issues can be read online free.

A publication that is focused on sign language but also carries deaf culture articles, is Sign Language Studies from Gallaudet University Press. SLS carries articles on sign language internationally, as well as deaf culture articles. It can not be read online, but tables of contents are posted online.

Most of the national organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing publish newspapers, magazines, or e-zines.

• The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing publishes the Volta Review, a research publication. AG Bell also publishes the Volta Voices, a magazine for families.
• The American Society for Deaf Children, a parent organization, publishes the Endeavor.
• Another parent organization, Hands & Voices, publishes The Communicator.
• The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf publishes the Journal of Interpretation.
• The American Speech Language Hearing Association is a virtual publishing powerhouse, publishing several periodicals for speech pathologists and audiologists: ASHA Journal, ASHA Leader, American Journal of Audiology, Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, and Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.
• Children of Deaf Adults publishes the CODA Connection.
• The Hearing Loss Association of America publishes Hearing Life magazine.

A handful of reliable online news sources have developed:

• DeafDigest - More editorial in nature, this entertaining weekly sends out news and pithy commentary.
• Deaf News Today - This is a blog that spotlights deaf-related news stories and sometimes has original writing and commentary.

The main newspaper of the deaf press, covering national and international news was Silent News.

Even though the Silent News was well-known, many people had shared their copies, meaning that relatively few actually subscribed! This made it difficult for the Silent News and other deaf newspapers, to survive. In addition, because online news services have taken over the task of disseminating daily and weekly news, the Silent News in later years shifted from a current news focus to more of a feature focus, with more staff-written articles. The Silent News ceased publication in the early 2000s.

The second short-lived newspaper, Newswaves, had temporarily suspended publication but resumed in January 2002 before suspending publication again. In the late '90s, there was another short-lived deaf newspaper, DeafNation.

The National Association of the Deaf had published The NAD Broadcaster, and The Deaf American, which morphed into the Deaf American Monograph before ceasing publication. Then there was the relatively short-lived Hip Magazine, which appealed more to hard of hearing than deaf teens.

Back issues of the print publications may be available in the libraries of deaf educational institutions such as Gallaudet University.

There had also been previously published web-based "magazines" such as the Tactile Mind, but that was succeeded by Clerc Scar, which is now gone. Both had been arts-focused, showcasing original creative writing and cartoons. It may be possible to locate issues via the Internet Archive online.