[blindlaw] www.NewspapersForTheBlind.ORG lawsuit/NYTimes Company

[Will May]

28th November, 2009
Maryland

Hello all;

I am the editor of www.NewspapersForTheBlind.ORG which is a vocal
newspaper reading service for the hearing-impaired blind. We
human-read the newspaper articles, as opposed to synthetic speech, to
also reach the many hearing-impaired blind; particularly the aged.

We instituted this service in reaction to curtailed radio newspaper
reading by carrier-wave by NPR stations due to budget cuts.

The NYTimes outsources its copyright licensing.  We contacted the
outsource asking prior permission to read the text content to audio
for the blind; never receiving a response. We wrote to the NYTimes
asking permission, ending each communication with, effectively, "We'll
assume no 'No' is a yes," all to no response. All of the newspapers we
were able to dialogue with had granted us permission; naturally, the
hearing-impaired blind are not skipping a subscription to the
paper-and-ink newspaper for our service.

We have asked for the NYTimes Company's newspapers on the same terms
and delivery methods as the National Federation for the Blind enjoys
to machine-read for the only-blind at Newsline.

Is there any theory that the NYTimes must allow us content for the
hearing-impaired blind on similar terms?

Is there any theory that the NYTimes must provide an edition for the
hearing-impaired blind under the ADA?

Any helpful thoughts would be appreciated,

Kind regards,

Will May
Editor at NewspapersForTheBlind.ORG