Radio Reading Service

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A Radio Reading Service (German: Radio-Vorlese-Dienst, also English: Reading Service for the Blind ) is a non-profit radio service that broadcasts programs specifically for blind and visually impaired people. However, many people with reading difficulties and illiterate people probably also use this route to find out about the content of the current printed media. Local and national newspapers and magazines as well as fiction and non-fiction books are read aloud .

Most of these services are freely available. Some require proof of the presence of a visual impairment for use.

carrier

Typically, the offer is produced by volunteers and broadcast on a public radio station. Such services are mainly available in the USA and Canada , but also in Latin America , Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the Netherlands and Japan . The most important sponsors are the American International Association of Audio Information Services (IAAIS) and its subsidiary organizations. In many cases, libraries are also involved.

Comparable radio programs have so far been rare in German-speaking countries. They are limited to a few broadcasts on free radios . In these countries, visually impaired people are usually supplied with media via the libraries for the blind .

technology

Broadcasting in the USA is mostly done on public radio stations . Some services are also distributed by universities, which often operate their own radio stations .

Most broadcasts are made via a subcarrier of the main VHF frequency on which a station can be heard. The reception then takes place via a special receiver that is permanently set to this subcarrier. Sometimes the service can also be heard over the normal VHF signal, often as a night program.

Meanwhile, many deals are also available through the Internet via live stream to hear worldwide. In some cases, special audio players and web radios are offered to make it easier for listeners to find the live stream on the Internet. Some broadcasters also offer online archives from which older programs can be downloaded.

history

There are currently around 100 such offers in the USA. The first radio reading service there was the Minnesota Radio Talking Network , founded in 1969. In 1971 the audio reader service followed in Lawrence, Kansas.

The first purely internet-based service was Assistive Media . Founded in 1996, it makes podcasts that can be freely downloaded from the Internet.

See also

Web links