This accessibility statement explains how medienconnect.de works to make its journalism available to all readers, including those who use assistive technologies or have disabilities. It covers the standards we follow, how to navigate the site, known limitations, and how to report problems. We are committed to improving accessibility continuously and welcome your feedback.
What accessibility standards does medienconnect.de follow?
We aim to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA, the internationally recognised benchmark for accessible web content. This commitment applies to all editorial pages and core functionality of the news site.
Our development team tests against WCAG 2.2 success criteria for perceivability, operability, understanding and robustness. We follow the guidelines published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative and review the site after major updates to ensure compliance remains current. The publisher, Medienconnec Media Ltd., has assigned editorial responsibility for accessibility to the Chefredaktör, Alexander Seidel, who oversees standards across the newsroom.
How can I navigate and use the site?
You can operate medienconnect.de entirely by keyboard, using Tab, Shift+Tab, Enter and arrow keys to move through links, buttons, headings and form controls. A visible focus indicator appears on every interactive element.
All page content is structured with semantic HTML headings (h1, h2, h3) that screen readers can use to jump between sections. Skip-to-content links are provided at the top of each page. We avoid auto-playing video or audio, and we do not rely on timed interactions unless clearly stated. If you use a screen magnifier or voice control, the interface remains usable with standard browser zoom up to 200 % without loss of content or functionality.
What about reduced motion and contrast?
We respect the ‘prefers-reduced-motion’ system setting, disabling non-essential animations or transitions when this preference is active. Text colour, background colours and link colours have been chosen to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA contrast ratios (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).
All editorial images carry meaningful alt text. Decorative images have null alt attributes so screen readers ignore them. We do not use colour alone to convey information; for example, chart labels and data tables include text or pattern distinctions. Should you encounter any content with insufficient contrast or unwanted motion, please let us know at accessibility@medienconnect.de.
Are there any known limitations?
Some third-party embedded content, such as videos from external platforms, interactive maps or social media widgets, may not fully meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA. We ask providers to improve their products and will replace or remove them when an inaccessible version cannot be remedied.
Older article archives published before January 2025 may contain legacy formatting or images without adequate alt text. We are progressively retrofitting these. PDF downloads of full reports may lack full heading structure or tagged text; where possible we also offer an accessible HTML version. If you find a specific piece of content that is not usable, please contact our editorial team via the Contact page or the dedicated accessibility address above.
How this works in practice
Suppose you are using a screen reader to read an article about Swedish economic policy. You can press the skip-to-content link to jump past the navigation, then use the h2 headings to move between sections: “Sammanfattning”, “Regeringens förslag”, “Reaktioner”. Each figure and table has a text description before or after it. The interactive chart uses accessible ARIA labels and a data table fallback. No flashing content appears. If the article includes a video from an external platform, we provide a text summary underneath as a fallback. You can report any issue directly by emailing accessibility@medienconnect.de, and we will respond with a workaround or correction within two business days.
Who is responsible for this statement?
medienconnect.de is owned and operated by Medienconnec Media Ltd., a private company registered in Gibraltar (company number C 92009, Malta Business Registry). The registered office is Office 9, Business Centre, Valletta, 0000. Editorial oversight rests with Chefredaktör Alexander Seidel, who ensures accessibility obligations are integrated into our newsroom processes. The technical implementation is overseen by our development team in collaboration with external accessibility consultants.
Our Editorial Policy and Complaints Procedure cover how we handle accessibility-related complaints on the same basis as any other editorial concern. Complaints flagged to accessibility@medienconnect.de are treated with the same priority as corrections, fact‑checking issues or content complaints.
In short
medienconnect.de is committed to making its journalism accessible to everyone, aiming for WCAG 2.2 Level AA across the site. We welcome your input to help us identify gaps and improve the experience for all readers. Please contact accessibility@medienconnect.de with any questions, suggestions or reports of accessibility barriers.