Youngstown Radio Reading Service

Last updated

The Youngstown Radio Reading Service (YRRS) is a radio reading service located in Youngstown, Ohio, providing daily readings of a wide variety of topical printed materials to blind and vision-impaired people. YRRS is based at 2747 Belmont Avenue at the Goodwill Industries building in Youngstown. It is a member of Ohio Radio Reading Services, an organization of nine radio reading services throughout Ohio. [1] A volunteer-driven operation, YRRS operates everyday from noon to 11:40 p.m.

A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a 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 most often carried 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.

Youngstown, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Youngstown is a city in and the county seat of Mahoning County in the U.S. state of Ohio, with small portions extending into Trumbull County. According to the 2010 Census, Youngstown had a city proper population of 66,982, while the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area it anchors contained 565,773 people in Mahoning and Trumbull counties in Ohio, and Mercer County in Pennsylvania.

Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment or vision loss, is a decreased ability to see to a degree that causes problems not fixable by usual means, such as glasses. Some also include those who have a decreased ability to see because they do not have access to glasses or contact lenses. Visual impairment is often defined as a best corrected visual acuity of worse than either 20/40 or 20/60. The term blindness is used for complete or nearly complete vision loss. Visual impairment may cause people difficulties with normal daily activities such as driving, reading, socializing, and walking.

Contents

Reception of YRRS requires a special radio receiver tuned to WYSU 88.5 FM; [1] the receiver is provided at no cost to its vision-impaired listeners. YRRS operates with the use of WYSU's radio subcarrier.

WYSU is a National Public Radio member radio station. Licensed to serve Youngstown, Ohio, United States, the station is currently owned by Youngstown State University.

A subcarrier is a sideband of a radio frequency carrier wave, which is modulated to send additional information. Examples include the provision of colour in a black and white television system or the provision of stereo in a monophonic radio broadcast. There is no physical difference between a carrier and a subcarrier; the "sub" implies that it has been derived from a carrier, which has been amplitude modulated by a steady signal and has a constant frequency relation to it.

Funding

Monetary support for the YRRS and other radio reading services comes from the United Way, state and municipal funding, endowments, grants, corporate gifts, community service organizations, fund-raising events and listener contributions. [2]

United Way of America charitable organization

United Way of America based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a nonprofit organization that works with almost 1,200 local United Way offices throughout the country in a coalition of charitable organizations to pool efforts in fundraising and support. United Way's focus is to identify and resolve pressing community issues and to make measurable changes in communities through partnerships with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and others. The main areas include education, income, and health.

Related Research Articles

Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR has a lot of listeners each week in regional Public radio and worldwide by TuneIn.

Youngstown State University American research university in Ohio

Youngstown State University (YSU), founded in 1908, is an American research university located in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. As of fall 2010, there were 15,194 students and a student-faculty ratio of 19:1. The fall 2010 enrollment figure is the highest since 1990, when the number of students on campus was 15,454. Records show that 11,803 of the students are undergraduates. Beyond its current student body, YSU claims more than 94,000 alumni.

WUFM is non-commercial radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio. The station retransmits its signal to several FM stations and FM translators nationwide including KRQZ, a full-service FM station licensed to Lompoc, California, WPRJ, a full-service FM station licensed to Coleman, Michigan, and KQXI, a full-service FM station licensed to Granite Falls, Washington.

WRBH

WRBH 88.3 FM is a non-commercial radio outlet in New Orleans, Louisiana that primarily provides radio reading service programming for the blind and print handicapped, one of only two such stations in the United States. Services include readings of books, original programming and readings of newspapers including The Wall Street Journal and The Times-Picayune. WYPL in Memphis, Tennessee provides similar services. The station's owners are Radio For The Blind & Print Handicapped, which is where the call letters came from. They operate at 88.3 MHz with an ERP of 51 kW. The station was founded by Dr. Robert McLean, a blind mathematician.

WHTX (AM) urban adult contemporary radio station in Warren, Ohio, United States

WHTX — branded ESPN 1570 Mahoning Valley — is a Sports radio station licensed to Warren, Ohio and serving the Youngstown-Youngstown area from sister station WYCL's studio/transmitter facility in Mineral Ridge. Owned by Whiplash Radio, LLC; managed by Michael Thompson, Receiver; and operated by Sagittarius Communications, LLC; the station operates with unlimited hours, with 500 watts during the daytime, and 116 watts in the evening hours.

WQXK

WQXK is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, serving the Mahoning Valley market broadcasting at 105.1 MHz with a country music format. It is one of eight radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Media with studios in "The Radio Center" in Youngstown.

Radio Information Service

The Radio Information Service or RIS was a reading service for the blind in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was carried via subcarrier on WDUQ in Pittsburgh.

WGEV was a college radio station that was owned by Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. The station used to broadcast on 88.3 FM, but its license was canceled in September 2007. A class D station, WGEV applied for a power upgrade and move to class A status in 1989 but that move was rejected in July 1989 as it would have caused significant interference with the broadcast signal of WYSU in Youngstown, Ohio.

WUWF

WUWF Public Media consists of radio, television and internet services. WUWF FM is a public radio station licensed to the Board of Trustees of the University of West Florida, located in Pensacola, Florida. The station is a member of National Public Radio, Florida Public Radio, American Public Media and Public Radio International. The station's main signal is broadcast on 88.1 FM with a non-directional power output of 100,000 watts from a 1,000 foot tower located in Midway, Florida. The primary antenna array is centered at 187.2 meters (614 feet).

WHJM, "Radio Maria" is a non-commercial FM station operating at 88.7 mHz licensed to Anna, Ohio. It is a repeater station of KJMJ (AM) 580 in Alexandria, Louisiana and is owned by Radio Maria Inc. airing inspirational music and Catholic programming for the Upper Miami Valley region of Shelby, Auglaize, Allen, Logan, Mercer, Miami and surrounding counties in West Central Ohio. It is part of the international broadcast ministry of The World Family of Radio Maria, which is based in Italy and broadcasts in over thirty countries in thirteen languages worldwide. The station also audiostreams from its website for listeners outside its immediate signal area.

The Kansas Audio-Reader Network, generally called Audio-Reader, is a radio reading service for the blind in Lawrence, Kansas. The program began operating on October 11, 1971, and is the second to operate in the United States. Audio-Reader broadcasts the content of books, newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials via a closed-circuit radio to certified users in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. In addition to the radio program, Audio-Reader operates other services for the blind, including a telephone information service called Telephone Reader, audio description of theater in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lawrence, Kansas, cassette taping of printed materials, and a sensory garden.

WFYI-FM Public radio station in Indianapolis, IN, USA

WFYI-FM (90.1) is the National Public Radio member station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is operated by Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Broadcasting, a public broadcasting community licensee which also operates the area's PBS member station, WFYI Public Television via on-air digital channels 20.1, 20.2 and 20.3. WFYI-FM operates on a broadcast frequency of 90.1FM and is available on high-digital radio receivers, as 90.1 HD2 (90.1-2), nicknamed "The Point". HD 1 is marketed as "News/Talk and HD2 as "World/Variety".

RNIB Connect Radio

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 and southern New South Wales 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 dedicated employees.

Associated Services for the Blind non-profit organisation in the USA

The Associated Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired (ASB) is a private non-profit organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which promotes self-esteem, independence, and self-determination in people who are blind or visually impaired. It provides education and training resources, community action and public education, serving as a voice and advocate for the rights of the blind or visually impaired.

Braille Institute of America organization

Braille Institute of America (BIA) is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Los Angeles providing programs, seminars and one-on-one instruction for the visually impaired community in Southern California. Funded almost entirely by private donations, all of the Institute's services are provided completely free of charge. The organization has five regional centers as well as outreach programs at more than 200 locations throughout Southern California. It is a member of BANA.

Cleveland Sight Center is a CARF accredited non-profit agency founded in 1906 that provides preventative, educational, rehabilitative, and other services for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, directly serving approximately 10,000 clients annually and many more indirectly through its radio-reading and community outreach programs. In addition to providing educational and rehabilitative services, CSC also offers social and recreational activities for its clients, hosts camping sessions at its summer camp Highbrook Lodge, and has a Low vision Clinic.

Warwickshire Vision Support is a registered charity providing rehabilitation services for adults with sight impairments to support them to live independent lives. Services are provided by Warwickshire Vision Support's rehabilitation team based at their offices in Warwick. Founded in 1911, the charity celebrated its centenary year in 2011. In 2014, Warwickshire Association for the Blind changed its operating name to Warwickshire Vision Support.

References