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

Sat Dec 15 20:44:21 CST 2007

David:

The newsline readership thing is a two-edged 
sword.  In most states, the number of active 
regular users is a small percentage of the total 
registered.  In general, I think that about ten 
percent of the people who register actually use 
the service.  So if you start throwing about numbers, they can bite you.

Dave

At 03:13 PM 12/13/2007, you 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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