[Ct-nfb] FW: AD Tours at the White House

Wed Jun 21 02:30:58 UTC 2017

thanks Beth for the info.
Eileen Torow

On Tue, Jun 20, 2017 at 02:51 PM, Elizabeth Rival via CT-NFB wrote:

From: Andrea Giudice [mailto:dawgmawm at gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 8:18 AM
To: Andrea Giudice <dawgmawm at gmail.com>
Subject: FW: AD Tours at the White House

I am forwarding this because I was unaware there have been audio tours 
available at the white house and I am wondering if I am not alone.
Andrea

-----begin forwarded message-------

from Joel Snyder
NOTE: I wrote the AD tour of The White House on behalf of ACB's Audio 
Description Project and it was originally voiced by the legendary (and 
totally blind) radio personality, Ed Walker. When the White House, late 
in Obama's second tour, added a room to the tour, Ed had already passed 
away so I re-voiced the tour. It's my hope that the tour can be put back 
in place soon! J.S.
The Trump Administration Is Behind On White House Tours For Blind 
Visitors
The audio description tours for blind and low vision people are not up 
and running yet but the administration says they're working on it. There 
is also some drama over a recorded introduction of Melania Trump to 
replace the one by Michelle Obama.
Posted on June 16, 2017, at 1:11 p.m.
Adrian Carrasquillo
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Reporting From
Washington, D.C.
In the early days of Obama's second term, the White House announced that 
audio description tours would be made available for blind and low vision 
visitors after a decades-long push by advocacy organizations. But 
concerned groups now say the Trump administration is not offering the 
same service to blind Americans and say they don't know who to get in 
touch with at the White House.
There is also another issue - the previous audio description included an 
introduction by former first lady Michelle Obama, and, presumably first 
lady Melania Trump would record a new introduction.
But a Trump administration source and sources close to the 
administration said the new introduction was recorded, and later 
scrapped because the White House did not like how Melania Trump sounded 
in it.
A White House official told BuzzFeed News that they are working on 
getting the audio description tours up and running but blind or visually 
impaired citizens can still receive a human-led tour by someone 
experienced in giving these kinds of tours.
Regarding the introduction by the first lady, the official said they're 
working on that, too. Asked whether it was already recorded and if there 
were perceived problems with Melania Trump's version of the 
introduction, the official did not dispute that account but reiterated 
that it is "in process - all I can say to you is that anyone who is 
visually impaired will be given a human-led tour."
A second White House official responded after publication and said the 
first lady never recorded an introduction.
Audio description, whether done at museums or at the White House is a 
professional activity, where the focus is not just on the history of the 
room but on describing the objects in the room and what the room looks 
like - making the visual verbal, experts say.
In 2010, the White House worked with groups like the American Council 
for the Blind to pass the 21st Century Communications and Video 
Accessibility Act, which for the first time created a legal requirement 
that broadcasters include a minimal number of hours of audio 
descriptions. In addition, White house ceremonies were audio described 
and stakeholder groups felt there was a real attention to visitors.
But now some of the same organizations that worked closely with the 
Obama White House say they are having trouble getting someone on the 
phone in the Trump administration. One source asked BuzzFeed News who 
they should reach out to.
The director of the White House visitor's office, Daniel Fisher, which 
manages the tours, did not respond to a BuzzFeed News request for 
comment.
But Eric Bridges, the executive director of the American Council of the 
Blind, stressed that the Trump administration shouldn't be overly 
criticized regarding the audio descriptions, and instead put the onus on 
his own organization.
"We have not formally reached out to them," he said, noting that 
organizations like his are constrained by capacity, staffing and 
resources.
Still, he too would love to hear from the Trump administration.
"We would welcome the opportunity to sit down with them," he said.
JOEL SNYDER, Ph.D.
Author of The Visual Made Verbal: A Comprehensive Training Manual and
Guide to the History and Applications of Audio Description -
get your copy at thevisualmadeverbal.net
President, Audio Description Associates, LLC
"The Visual Made Verbal" (tm)
[ADA logo (5))'ggmentm) ADA logo-an eye within an ear
6502 Westmoreland Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912
jsnyder at audiodescribe.com<mailto:jsnyder at audiodescribe.com 
<mailto:jsnyder at audiodescribe.com%3cmailto:jsnyder at audiodescribe.com> >
Tel: 301 920-0218; Fax: 208 445-0079
For more information about audio description, please visit:
www.audiodescribe.com<http://www.audiodescribe.com/ 
<http://www.audiodescribe.com%3chttp:/www.audiodescribe.com/> >
Director, Audio Description Project
American Council of the Blind
jsnyder at acb.org<mailto:jsnyder at acb.org 
<mailto:jsnyder at acb.org%3cmailto:jsnyder at acb.org> > - 202 467-5083
www.acb.org/adp<http://www.acb.org/adp 
<http://www.acb.org/adp%3chttp:/www.acb.org/adp> >

_______________________________________________

CT-NFB mailing list

CT-NFB at nfbnet.org

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org 
<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org>

To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
CT-NFB:

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/setorow%40optonline.net 
<http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/setorow%40optonline.net>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20170620/c10984b0/attachment.html>