[nfb-talk] FW: [acb -l] interesting letter

[T. Joseph Carter]

David,

I like the idea of Newsline recordings of the specials, particularly since
I could listen to them right when I'm in the store that way.

Cookin' without Lookin' doesn't air in Oregon as far as I can tell.

Grants and the like could fund reading services, certainly, but this would
still draw fire from the critics who still object to someone being paid to
provide a service to "just a few" people.

On Thu, Dec 13, 2007 at 04:13:30PM -0500, David Evans wrote:
> 
> Dear Minnie,
> 
> I agree with your logic, but I would offer this idea.
> The big reason that this is drawing fire is the low numbers of listeners to
> the Radio Reading Services broadcast.
> I understand how it works and Radio Reading Services have some very good
> things that are hard to replace, such as the specials on sale at the store
> or market.
> The draw back is that you have to be present and listening to the broadcast
> when it airs.
> What if Radio Reading Service was broadcast live, but also record and then
> made available on NFB Newsline service under the channels feature.
> One thing RRS can not show is how many people are listening out there on any
> certain day.  NFB Newsline can and by having it available to be listened too
> at a time of the listeners choosing would make it more flexible and it could
> even be accessed from places out of range of their transmitters.
> This could even open up allot of new ideas for show content and make it
> reach allot further and to more people than it does.
> I think that this idea is worth kicking around just a little just to see
> what might fall out, don't you?
> There are grants out there for new creative TV and Radio productions.  I
> know as I have helped guide a popular Blind Cooking TV show to a few of
> them.  Have you heard of "Cookin without Lookin?"  It is a cooking show that
> features 3 blind cooks who host blind guest cooks and also do features about
> interesting things that Blind People are curious about.  It airs on the
> Public broadcast station across the Nation.  
> 
> RRS could apply for such grants, and as some of the grants are federal
> grants, part of the grant can be used to pay salaries too.
> Do you place NFB Chapter newsletters on the channels feature as Florida
> Does?  Radio Reading Services could be a good fit hear too and this would
> not only extend its life, but give it a new untapped audience it could not
> reach before.
> Let me know what you think?
> 
> David Evans, NFBF
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of David Andrews
> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 10:50 PM
> To: NFB Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] FW: [acb-l] interesting letter
> 
> Joseph:
> 
> I have worked at and run a variety of information access services over the
> years including radio reading services, book taping, brailling, and
> telephone-accessed services.  The $90 per user cost is pretty typical, lower
> then some.  Because our numbers are low, on a per person cost basis it will
> always look expensive, even for newsline in most states.
> 
> Dave
> 
> At 02:57 AM 12/12/2007, you wrote:
> >It seems to me that government tends to spend a lot more to serve a lot
> fewer people.  This is a little more than $90 per person using the service.
> How much do we spend on our readers? I have no opinion about this service,
> how it is funded, who gets the money, or the inter-organizational bickering
> that is likely to accompany the message.  For me, it nicely resolves the
> "many thousands for a few people" thing and makes the letter suddenly much
> less interesting. I would certainly suggest that the people in Alabama
> consider putting those numbers into perspective when discussing whether this
> program should be funded or not. On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 07:51:31PM +0000,
> Eric Calhoun wrote: > Letters, faxes, and e-mail > Alabama > Â  > Monday,
> December 10, 2007 > Â  > Adhering to its mission? > Â  > This letter is in
> regard to the fact that the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
> Services is cutting funding for WHIL-FM's Radio Reading Service. > The
> department decided that the $42,000 it has spent annually on the service can
> be better used elsewhere. According to WHIL, about 450 individuals use > the
> service. > Â  > My problem with the whole situation is what is being said by
> the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and what is being
> done by the agency. > Â  > Â  > I am a 57-year-old visually impaired person.
> I represent the National Federation of the Blind. Our motto is, "Changing
> what it means to be blind," which > encourages independence, not dependence.
> > Â  > I see this as not an attempt to save funding, but an opportunity to
> have a perfectly qualified blind person removed from the work force. > Â  >
> The executive director of WHIL Radio Reading Service, Brad Martin, is
> totally blind and has been all of his life. > Â  > I know Mr. Martin
> personally. He is highly intelligent in the area of technology and very
> capable of handling this service, as he has been doing since he > started
> with the program. He is college educated and very qualified to do his job.
> The funding being taken away is Mr.
>  employee. > Â  > If you take the $42,000 yearly funding away, then Mr.
> Martin is another blind person without a job. The irony is that the Alabama
> Department of Vocational > Rehabilitation Services will use the same $42,000
> to find Mr. Martin a job -- something he would already have if the funds
> were left in place. > Â  > So how is the Department of Vocational
> Rehabilitation Services helping the blind and disabled find and keep
> employment? Is this how our tax dollars are > to be spent by the powers that
> make these decisions? > Â  > MINNIE K. WALKER > Â  > President, Mobile
> Chapter of the > Â  > National Federation of the Blind >
> http://www.al.com/opinion/press-register/index.ssf?/base/opinion/11973069043
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