[nfb-talk] Fw: Contacting the ABC

Mon Apr 6 10:53:46 UTC 2009

Hi this is Kenneth Chrane.
Correction, the Date is April 7, 2009.
Ken Chrane
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenneth Chrane" <kenneth.chrane at verizon.net>
To: "Multiple recipients of NFBnet NFB-Talk Mailing List" 
<NFB-Talk at NFBnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 6:48 AM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Fw: Contacting the ABC


> Tuesday, May 7, 2009, Blind Citizens March on New York City to Protest The 
> Authors Gilled.
> Ken Chrane
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Australian Broadcasting Corporation" <anonymous at your.abc.net.au>
> To: <kenneth.chrane at verizon.net>
> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 4:16 AM
> Subject: Contacting the ABC
>
>
>> Dear Kenneth Chrane
>>
>> This email provides a copy of your comments recently submitted to the ABC 
>> via the online email form located on this webpage :
>> http://abc.net.au/contact.
>>
>> Yours sincerely,
>>
>> ABC Audience & Consumer Affairs
>>
>> **IMPORTANT NOTE: Please do not reply to this message.  You are welcome 
>> to submit any further comments you may have using the form available 
>> here - http://abc.net.au/contact **
>>
>> __________________________________
>>
>> First name: Kenneth
>> Surname: Chrane
>> Email: kenneth.chrane at verizon.net
>>
>> Location: WA
>> Response Required: true
>> Program: The news today.
>> Program Date: April 6, 2009
>> ABC Service\Network: News
>> ABC Recipient: ABC News & Current Affairs
>> Subject: Tuesday, Blind Citizens of The United States of America, March 
>> in New York City:
>> Your Comments:
>>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>
>>
>>
>> CONTACT:
>>
>> Chris Danielsen
>>
>> Director of Public Relations
>>
>> National Federation of the Blind
>>
>> (410) 659-9314, ext. 2330
>>
>> (410) 262-1281 (Cell)
>> <mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org
>>
>>
>>
>> Reading Rights Coalition Urges Authors to Allow
>> Everyone Access to E-books
>>
>>
>>
>> Informational Protest to be Held at Authors Guild Headquarters
>>
>>
>>
>> New York City (March 30, 2009): The Reading
>> Rights Coalition, which represents people who
>> cannot read print, will protest the threatened
>> removal of the text-to-speech function from
>> e-books for the Amazon Kindle 2 outside the
>> Authors Guild headquarters in New York City at 31
>> East 32nd Street on April 7, 2009, from noon to
>> 2:00 p.m.  The coalition includes the blind,
>> people with dyslexia, people with learning or
>> processing issues, seniors losing vision, people
>> with spinal cord injuries, people recovering from
>> strokes, and many others for whom the addition of
>> text-to-speech on the Kindle 2 promised for the
>> first time easy, mainstream access to over 255,000 books.
>>
>>
>>
>> When Amazon released the Kindle 2 electronic book
>> reader on February 9, 2009, the company announced
>> that the device would be able to read e-books
>> aloud using text-to-speech technology.  Under
>> pressure from the Authors Guild, Amazon has
>> announced that it will give authors and
>> publishers the ability to disable the
>> text-to-speech function on any or all of their
>> e-books available for the Kindle 2.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
>> Federation of the Blind, said: "The blind and
>> print-disabled have for years utilized
>> text-to-speech technology to read and access
>> information.  As technology advances and more
>> books move from hard-copy print to electronic
>> formats, people with print disabilities have for
>> the first time in history the opportunity to
>> enjoy access to books on an equal basis with
>> those who can read print.  Authors and publishers
>> who elect to disable text-to-speech for their
>> e-books on the Kindle 2 prevent people who are blind or have
>>
>> other print disabilities from reading these
>> e-books.  This is blatant discrimination and we will not tolerate it."
>>
>>
>>
>> Mike Shuttic, president of the Association on
>> Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), said:
>> "AHEAD envisions educational and societal
>> environments that value disability and embody
>> equality of opportunity.  This vision of AHEAD is
>> directly aligned with the efforts of this
>> coalition.  Although much rhetoric is made about
>> potential obstacles and problems that exist, the
>> basic goal is clear and simple--access for
>> everyone.  And why create something that prevents it?"
>>
>>
>>
>> Mitch Pomerantz, president of the American
>> Council of the Blind, said: "Removing the
>> text-to-speech features closes the door on an
>> innovative technological solution that would make
>> regular print books available to tens of
>> thousands of individuals who are blind or visually impaired."
>>
>>
>>
>> Andrew Imparato, President and Chief Executive
>> Officer for the American Association of People
>> with Disabilities (AAPD), said: "It is outrageous
>> when a technology device shuts out people with
>> all kinds of disabilities.  AAPD works to remove
>> barriers to accessibility and usability in
>> technology, and we don't expect to see people
>> with disabilities singled out by having to pay
>> more for access.  New technologies, such as
>> electronic books, should be available to everyone regardless of 
>> disability."
>>
>> Paul Schroeder, vice president of programs and
>> policy for the American Foundation for the Blind,
>> said: "Those of us with print disabilities have
>> long dreamed of a world in which books and media
>> are available to us at the same time as everyone
>> else. The Kindle 2 offers that possibility for
>> the first time.  We hope publishers and authors
>> come to see that text-to-speech is simply an
>> alternative means of access to print."
>>
>> Dr. Peter Blanck, chairman and university
>> professor at Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse
>> University, said: "As electronic books become the
>> norm, denying universal access will result in
>> more and more people with disabilities being left
>> out of education, employment, and the societal
>> conversation.  We will all suffer from the
>> absence of their participation and contribution
>> to the debates that occupy us as a society."
>>
>>
>>
>> George Kerscher of the Digital Accessible
>> Information System (DAISY) Consortium, said: "The
>> DAISY Consortium envisions a world where people
>> with print disabilities have equal access to
>> information and knowledge, without delay or
>> additional expense.  Authors and publishers
>> surely must share this vision.  Now that the
>> issue of human rights has been explained, and the
>> opportunity for larger sales are known, I urge
>> the Authors Guild to reverse their position on
>> text-to-speech and join us in actively
>> encouraging all publishers and reading technology
>> developers to open the world of reading to
>> everybody.  Authors, join us on the picket line."
>>
>>
>>
>> Steve Jacobs, president of IDEAL Group Inc.,
>> said, "Not only is text-to-speech important to
>> people who are blind, it is critical in providing
>> quality educations to millions of young people
>> who rely on text-to-speech to learn
>> effectively.  This includes students with autism,
>> learning disabilities, mobility disabilities, and
>> cognitive disabilities that impact their ability
>> to acquire information with their eyes only. I
>> remain hopeful that the talented members of the
>> Authors Guild come to understand the potential
>> negative impact of disabling the text-to-speech
>> function on their e-books and reconsider their position."
>>
>>
>>
>> Cynthia D. Waddell, executive director of the
>> International Center for Disability Resources on
>> the Internet (ICDRI), said:  "The mission of
>> ICDRI supports the removal of barriers in
>> electronic and information technology and the
>> promotion of equal access.  ICDRI welcomes the
>> text-to-speech functionality being offered by the
>> Kindle 2 since it increases mainstream access to
>> books for the first time in history.  We question
>> why the Authors Guild demands that it be turned
>> it off since many more books would be sold if
>> text-to-speech was turned back on.  Not only
>>
>> does this feature benefit persons with
>> disabilities, but it also helps persons for whom
>> English is not their native language.  In an
>> increasingly mobile society, flexibility in
>> access to content improves the quality of life for everyone."
>>
>>
>>
>> James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology
>> International, said: "Knowing full well that not
>> everyone can see, the Authors Guild wants the
>> right to be seen, but not heard.  By bullying
>> Amazon to change the technology of Kindle 2, the
>> Authors Guild will either deny access to people
>> who are disabled, or make them pay more.  By
>> attacking disabled persons in this way, the
>> Authors Guild is attacking everyone who would
>> otherwise benefit from the contributions this
>> community has the potential to offer."
>>
>>
>>
>> James H. Wendorf, executive director for the
>> National Center for Learning Disabilities, said:
>> "Access to the written word is the cornerstone of
>> education and democracy.  New technologies must
>> serve individuals with disabilities, not impede
>> them.  Our homes, schools and ultimately our
>> economy rely on support for the future, not
>> discriminating practices and beliefs from the past."
>>
>> While the Kindle 2 is not currently accessible to
>> blind users, Amazon recently announced on its
>> Kindle 2 blog that it is currently at work on
>> making the device's navigational features accessible to the blind.
>>
>>
>>
>> The coalition includes: American Association of
>> People with Disabilities, American Council of the
>> Blind, American Foundation for the Blind,
>> Association on Higher Education and Disability,
>> Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Burton
>> Blatt Institute, Digital Accessible Information
>> System (DAISY) Consortium, Disability Rights
>> Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), IDEAL Group,
>> Inc., International Center for Disability
>> Resources on the Internet, International Dyslexia
>> Association, International Dyslexia
>> Association--New York Branch, Knowledge Ecology
>> International, Learning Disabilities Association
>> of America, National Center for Learning
>> Disabilities, National Disability Rights Network,
>> National Federation of the Blind, NISH, and the
>> National Spinal Cord Injury Association.  In
>> addition to the April 7 New York City protest,
>> the coalition will participate in the Los Angeles
>> Times Festival of Books on April 25-26.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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