[blparent] Fw: A note from WGBH about recent description grant awards

[Ken Quinn]

A note from WGBH about recent description grant awardsimportant news to know.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Mary Watkins 
To: dvsconsumers 
Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2010 11:42 AM
Subject: A note from WGBH about recent description grant awards


A note to our DVS Consumers email list members:

WGBH's Media Access Group has learned that we were not awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to describe broadcast and cable programs suitable for use in classrooms. This is the first time in 20 years we were not among those vendors chosen to receive funding.

This grant program, which was established at the urging of the late Senator Edward Kennedy and WGBH, previously awarded funding to competing vendors every three years. Awards will now extend for five years.  Other vendors received this round's awards, five in all.

WGBH used these funds to describe popular and critically lauded programs suitable for use in classrooms, some produced by WGBH and some by other PBS affiliates.  WGBH also included video description production costs in the budgets of additional programs, thus extending the reach of Department of Education funds.

Previous grant awards to WGBH helped PBS become the leader in the provision of described programming, a singular and sustained commitment that goes beyond new requirements imposed on commercial networks.

Public television production budgets are notoriously limited, resulting in the pledge drives we all see periodically on our local PBS stations. However, WGBH remains committed to the service we pioneered 20 years ago, and to the audience that relies on it. Several ongoing WGBH-produced series will immediately incorporate the cost of description into their budgets.  These series include:

Arthur 
Design Squad
Martha Speaks
NOVA and NOVA scienceNOW

American Experience and Masterpiece Mystery! will continue to be described as they have been, without funding assistance from the Department of Education. CBS, Fox, movie studios, theme parks and other exemplary clients continue to work with WGBH to provide description on a voluntary basis.

As description and captioning users know, the transition from analog to digital television distribution has resulted in myriad problems, with causes that can differ city by city, and channel by channel. While Department of Education grant awards have not recently funded the cost of troubleshooting delivery problems and supporting consumers, WGBH also remains committed to working with viewers and industry to assure reliable transmission and reception of description.

Recent passage of the "21st Century Video and Communications Accessibility Act" will literally create a more accessible world.  WGBH is proud of the work we have done over the years with public and private support.  We will continue to provide description and captioning, and will continue to drive innovation in accessible technology and services for people with disabilities, for educators and for our colleagues in the media and technology worlds.

As always, please let us know if you have questions, requests, suggestions, etc.

Best,

Mary

-- 
Mary Watkins
Director of Communications 
  and Outreach
Media Access Group at WGBH
One Guest Street
Boston, MA  02135
617 300-3700
mary_watkins at wgbh.org
access.wgbh.org

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