[Blindtlk] NFB-NEWSLINE Now Available in Arkansas

[Freeh, Jessica]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org




NFB-NEWSLINE® Now Available in Arkansas


Free Service Offers Independent Access to Periodicals
  for Print-Disabled Arkansas Residents



Little Rock, Arkansas (November 4, 2009): The 
National Federation of the Blind announced today 
that NFB-NEWSLINE® is now available to all 
print-disabled Arkansas residents.  NFB-NEWSLINE® 
is a free service that allows those who cannot 
read conventional newsprint due to a physical 
disability to listen to the newspaper over the 
telephone, on the web, or by download to a 
digital talking-book player.  Through the 
service, blind Arkansans can now independently 
access over three hundred newspapers and 
magazines and decide how, when, and where they 
wish to read their favorite publications.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
Federation of the Blind, said: “For many years, 
those unable to read the printed word were barred 
from attaining access to information, which is 
vital to full participation in society and 
affects individuals in all of the roles they play 
in their communities.  The availability of 
NFB-NEWSLINE® truly places the keys of access in 
the hands of all members of the print-disabled 
community.  With these keys, the blind themselves 
can open doors to the world and become aware of 
the matters both large and small that are covered in their daily newspapers.”





Matt Lyles, who serves as president of the 
National Federation of the Blind of Arkansas, is 
excited to have this revolutionary service 
available to him.  “I love knowing what’s going 
on in the world around me, and NFB-NEWSLINE® 
affords me that ability.  Further, I very much 
appreciate that with NFB-NEWSLINE®, blind people 
are not dependent on others to read the news to 
us; instead, we have the same flexibility and 
autonomy that we would with a traditional print 
newspaper.  Finally, the news is not what someone 
else decides is important; rather, NFB-NEWSLINE® 
subscribers get to make the choice of what news is important to them.”



Katy Morris, director of Arkansas Department of 
Human Services, Division of Services for the 
Blind (DSB), said: “We are excited to welcome 
NFB-NEWSLINE® into the family of services 
sponsored by DSB.  NFB-NEWSLINE® offers valuable 
opportunities for individuals who do not read 
print to independently access information they 
need.  In many ways NFB-NEWSLINE® mirrors the 
same goals held by the Arkansas Division of 
Services for the Blind to facilitate the 
independence, choice, and engagement of persons 
who are blind.  For the first time in DSB 
history, this partnership between the existing 
Arkansas Information Reading Services for the 
Blind and NFB-NEWSLINE® promises to raise the bar 
to enable Arkansans with vision impairments to 
compete globally by obtaining local, state, and 
worldwide information to manage their careers and their personal lives.”



NFB-NEWSLINE®, which began operation in 1995, 
offers TV listings in addition to newspapers and 
magazines to over 70,000 subscribers through 
several delivery methods: a standard touch-tone 
telephone, over the Internet, or by download to a 
digital talking-book player or mp3-playing device.



To experience the independent access to over 
three hundred publications offered with 
NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit 
<http://www.nfbnewslineonline.org/>www.nfbnewslineonline.org. 
For further information please write to 
<mailto:swhite at nfb.org>swhite at nfb.org or call (866) 504-7300.





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About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National 
Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
influential membership organization of blind 
people in the United States.  The NFB improves 
blind people's lives through advocacy, education, 
research, technology, and programs encouraging 
independence and self-confidence.  It is the 
leading force in the blindness field today and 
the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 2004 
the NFB opened the National Federation of the 
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and 
training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.