[New-hampshire-students] National Federation of the Blind Enhances and Expands Newspaper Service for the Blind

[Marie Johnson]

Hi folks,
I  wanted to pass along this great news to all of you and hope that you will share it with others as well. Newsline by phone has been a godsend to many blind and visually impaired people for quite a number of years now and this is yet 1 more way for everyone to stay on top of things that are happening in their communities.
  
 
NFB-NEWSLINE® Online Offers Blind Individuals More Options for Accessing the News
 

Baltimore, Maryland (March 31, 2009): NFB-NEWSLINE®, the largest electronic newspaper service in the world for blind and print-disabled Americans, is pleased to announce the launch of NFB-NEWSLINE® Online (www.nfbnewslineonline.org).  Through NFB-NEWSLINE® Online's groundbreaking features, subscribers can enjoy both an enhanced experience in reading the news and dramatically increased flexibility in how they choose to access their favorite publication's content. 

 

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The NFB-NEWSLINE® service was created so that blind people could benefit from independent access to information on world news and hometown events in the same way that our sighted colleagues can.  The new features offered by NFB-NEWSLINE® Online are an extension of this service's ability to allow independent and flexible access to news content by the blind.  I am very proud of the increased choice and convenience that initiatives like Web News on Demand and NFB-NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket provide to NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers."

 

NFB-NEWSLINE®, which began operation in 1995, offers over 275 newspapers and magazines as well as TV listings to over 65,000 subscribers through a standard touch-tone telephone.  With the exciting launch of NFB-NEWSLINE® Online, subscribers also now have unequaled access and unrivaled flexibility in how they read their favorite publications.  Two new initiatives have been designed to enhance the subscriber's experience: Web News on Demand and NFB-NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket. 

 

Through the easy-to-use Web News on Demand feature, subscribers can, for the first time ever, visit a secure Web site that offers a customizable reading experience and the ability to send entire publications, particular sections, or single articles to their e-mail inbox.  NFB- NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket is a dynamic software application that a subscriber installs on his or her computer.  Through an Internet connection, this software automatically downloads the publications of the subscriber's choice to his or her portable digital talking book player (such as the Victor Reader Stream or Icon/Braille+).  

 

Jerry Moreno, a retired social worker from North Carolina, said: "I love being able to get my favorite papers onto my digital talking book player in such an easy and quick way!  NFB-NEWSLINE® In Your Pocket does it all for me, so that I can go about my morning routine and by the time I'm done my papers are loaded and ready for me to read along with my cup of coffee."

 

David DeNotaris, director of Bureau of Blindness & Visual Services with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, said: "As a husband, father, avid sports fan, and busy professional, I particularly appreciate the fact that Web News on Demand allows me to access relevant local, national, and international news quickly, simply, and independently."  

 

To experience the groundbreaking features of NFB-NEWSLINE® Online, please visit www.nfbnewslineonline.org.  For further information please write to 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.