What happens when a team with zero journalism experience decides to shake up the news landscape? In Slovakia, it gave birth to Deafstudio — a media project that’s turning heads and redefining what accessible journalism can look like.

We met Roman, one of the pioneers behind Deafstudio. He proudly walked us through their journey: from short films on WWII Deaf history to stories about Deaf entrepreneurs, office workers, and political developments. At first, it was a learning curve — mistakes, internal trials, translation challenges — but the goal was always clear: news in authentic sign language, by and for Deaf people.

Funded partly by government support, Deafstudio began producing 8 to 9 videos per year. The DJE project gave them the push to dive into journalism more seriously — and something clicked. Not only could they hire more Deaf professionals, but the community responded. News wasn’t just for hearing people anymore.

Roman explained how Deaf audiences had been sidelined by outdated formats: a single interpreter squeezed next to a picture, stiff signs mixed with written grammar, or hour-long TV news with poor sign quality. Deafstudio raised the bar — cleaner visuals, clearer sign language, and a commitment to relevance. Politics, social justice, everyday issues? All tackled in Slovak Sign Language.

They didn’t stop at content creation. They started shaping best practices — even influencing national interpreters through facial expression and sign clarity. Now, they want to publish a shared style guide to elevate sign language journalism across Slovakia.

Yes, there were copyright hiccups and competition with another Deaf media outlet a decade ago. But instead of backing down, they used it as motivation. The result? A stronger, smarter, more confident team that’s redefining Deaf journalism from the inside.

Mediapi, France