[Blindtlk] Burlington Hawk Eye Now Accessible to Blind and Print-Disabled People

[Freeh, Jessica]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Michael Barber, President

National Federation of the Blind of Iowa

(515) 771-8348
E-mail: michael.NFBI at gmail.com





Burlington Hawk Eye Now Accessible to Blind and Print-Disabled People



Des Moines, Iowa (September 21, 2010): Michael 
Barber, president of the National Federation of 
the Blind of Iowa (NFBI), Iowa's largest blind 
consumer organization, announced Saturday at the 
group’s state convention that the Hawk Eye 
newspaper is now accessible to blind and 
print-disabled Iowans through 
NFB-NEWSLINE®.  NFB-NEWSLINE®, a service of the 
National Federation of the Blind, allows those 
who cannot read conventional newsprint due to a 
visual or physical disability to listen to 
newspapers and magazines over the telephone, on 
the Web, or by download to a digital talking-book 
player.  Through the service, blind and 
print-disabled people can access over three 
hundred newspapers and magazines independently, 
determining how, when, and where they wish to 
read their favorite publications.



The Hawk Eye is the latest Iowa newspaper added 
to NFB-NEWSLINE®.  The first Iowa newspaper 
became available on NFB-NEWSLINE® in 1996.



Jerry Jackson, president of the Southeast Iowa 
Chapter of the NFBI and a Burlington resident, 
said: “It’s exciting to be able to read my local 
paper, just like sighted people do.  And I can read it wherever I am.”



Michael Barber said: "We are thrilled that the 
Burlington Hawk Eye has joined 
NFB-NEWSLINE®.  Each accessible paper is like an 
oasis in the information desert that exists for blind people.”



The National Federation of the Blind of Iowa is a 
statewide organization of blind and sighted 
individuals changing what it means to be blind by 
educating the public about the abilities of blind 
persons to lead productive and self-sufficient 
lives, and advocating for their rights to do so.



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