A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a public service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is typically broadcast on a subcarrier, with radio receivers permanently tuned to a given station in the area, or an HD Radio subchannel of the offering station. Some reading services use alternative methods for reaching their audiences, including broadcasting over SAP, streaming Internet radio, cable TV, or even terrestrial TV.
WWL is a U.S. AM radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station has a talk radio format with sports talk at night. Studios are at the 400 Poydras Tower in the New Orleans Central Business District.
KPBX-FM is a public radio station serving Spokane, Washington. It broadcasts with an ERP of 56,000 watts and is one of three stations operated by Spokane Public Radio. KSFC and KPBZ are the others.
WETA is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C., broadcasting a classical music format. Its studios are located in Arlington, Virginia and its broadcast tower is located near Arlington at.
WWNO is a public, non-commercial radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is owned by the University of New Orleans, offering a news and information radio format with some jazz programs on weekends. Studios and offices are located on the fourth floor of the UNO library. The transmitter is off Behrman Highway in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans.
WTUL is a progressive/alternative FM radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, operating at 91.5 MHz with an ERP of 1,500 watts. The transmitter is located on the campus of Tulane University.
WQNO is a station based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The station is owned by Catholic Community Radio, Inc. and broadcasts at 690 kHz with a power level of 9,100 watts daytime and 2,100 watts nighttime. The station mostly runs Roman Catholic programming from EWTN radio.
WRKF is a non-commercial public FM radio station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is owned and operated by Public Radio, Inc., with studios and offices on Valley Creek Drive in Baton Rouge. WRKF is listener-supported, with periodic on-air fundraisers.
WPLN-FM, is a non-commercial public radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. It airs a news, talk and information radio format and is owned by Nashville Public Radio. The station's studios and offices on Mainstream Drive north of downtown Nashville, considered among the finest radio production facilities in the U.S. WPLN-FM is simulcast on two low-powered repeaters on the fringes of the Middle Tennessee area: WHRS 91.7 FM in Cookeville and WTML 91.5 FM in Tullahoma.
WBHM is a non-commercial public FM radio station in Birmingham, Alabama. The station is licensed to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where it maintains its radio studios on 11th Street South. WBHM features programming from National Public Radio, American Public Media and Public Radio Exchange. On weekdays, it carries news and information programming, with classical music heard late nights, seven days a week. Weekend programming includes public radio shows such as Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, On The Media, The Moth Radio Hour and Travel with Rick Steves, as well as Bluegrass music and New Age music.
KANU is the flagship station of Kansas Public Radio (KPR), a seven-station network based in Lawrence at the University of Kansas. In addition to KANU, KPR also operates full-power stations KANH in Emporia, KANV in Olsburg, and KANQ in Chanute ; and low-power translators K210CR in Atchison, and K258BT and K250AY in Manhattan.
KPBS-FM is a non-commercial public radio station broadcasting in San Diego, California, affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR). It is owned by San Diego State University as part of KPBS Public Media, and is a sister station to PBS member KPBS-TV. The two outlets share studios located on the SDSU campus at The Conrad Prebys Media Complex at Copley Center on Campanile Drive in San Diego. KPBS-FM's transmitter is located on San Miguel Mountain in southwestern San Diego County.
KNSU is a campus radio station licensed to Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The station mainly programs alternative rock aimed at a college aged crowd, however the station also plays hip hop music on shows aired on the station. The station also broadcasts Nicholls Colonels athletic events. It is part of the Colonel Media Group, the overarching organization for NSU student media.
RNIB Connect Radio is a British radio station that is part of Royal National Institute of Blind People and was Europe's first radio station for blind and partially sighted listeners. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online, on 101 FM in the Glasgow area, and on Freeview channel 730. Live shows make up around half of the station's output, with the overnight schedule being used as a showcase for the best music, features, interviews and articles from the past few days. Most of the presenters are blind or visually impaired. From 2007 until early 2016 it was known as Insight Radio.
Vision Australia Radio is a network of eight radio stations in Victoria, amongst some other states in Australia. It is owned by Vision Australia. The stations broadcast a range of programs, generally consisting of readings of newspapers and magazines for people unable to read print media. All the stations are operated by a volunteer staff and a small group of employees.
KMEZ, better known as "KMEZ 102.9", is an Urban AC outlet serving the New Orleans area. The Cumulus Media station is licensed to Belle Chasse, Louisiana and broadcasts its format at 102.9 MHz with an ERP of 4.7 kW. Its studios are located at the Place St. Charles building in Downtown New Orleans and the transmitter site is in Chalmette, Louisiana.
WYPL is a non-commercial radio station that serves the area of Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. The station is licensed to the Memphis Public Library & Information Center and provides an open radio reading service to patrons, a type of service usually available elsewhere in the United States only on special leased receivers. This station is only of two such open-air broadcasting operations in the United States; the other is located in New Orleans.
A sighted child who is reading at a basic level should be able to understand common words and answer simple questions about the information presented. They should also have enough fluency to get through the material in a timely manner. Over the course of a child's education, these foundations are built on to teach higher levels of math, science, and comprehension skills. Children who are blind not only have the education disadvantage of not being able to see: they also miss out on the very fundamental parts of early and advanced education if not provided with the necessary tools.
The Minnesota Radio Talking Book Network was the world's first radio reading service for the blind; the first on-air date was January 2, 1969. The purpose of a radio reading service is to make current print material available, through the medium of a radio, to those who cannot read it because of a physical condition such as blindness, visual disability, dyslexia, or strokes. In 1969, there were no other options available to blind and visually impaired people.
ScripTalk is an audible medication label technology designed to give access to individuals who are blind, visually impaired, or print impaired. It consists of a device and a microchip attached to the bottom of a prescription drug bottle. The label information is encoded on a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) electronic label (microchip) using the ScriptAbility software by a pharmacist and placed on the prescription package. ScripTalk prescription labels were introduced in the early 2000s. As of 2020, the technology was applied through the United States and Canada.
