[Nfbf-l] Blind Matters radio show/article from This Week's Matilda Ziegler

[Alan Dicey]

Blind Matters radio show/article from This Week's Matilda Ziegler
Ann chiapetta's column in this week's Ziegler is about the Blind Matters radio show.  It can be heard on AM 860 WWDB every Saturday from 3:00-6:00 PM.

This week, our editor gave the staff writers a chance to pick a subject from a list of suggestions submitted by our readers. I've always been curious about internet radio and thought that the opportunity to find out more about it would be a great idea and was pleased to find one of our writing choices was about a radio show for the blind. 
What is Blind Matters Radio?
According to the website, the show is, "[the] First syndicated radio show of its kind in the country. an all talk show catering to the visually impaired and the blind."
With a listener base of just about 300,000, this station broadcasts live from Orlando, Florida every Saturday between 3 and 6 PM Eastern. The show is funded by a grant through Publix and is produced by Michael and Lynn Golder, who also host the show. According to Michael, the goal is to increase the listener base to one million by next year. This isn't as hard as it sounds - since the show aired in April 2012, it is already so popular that it became a syndicated program in June of the same year. It is now slated to be aired in Boston and Baltimore, just to name a few cities. In fact, they just celebrated a one year anniversary. I asked Michael what it was like to celebrate such a milestone.
He said that it was fun and all the advertisers renewed their contracts through 2014. I asked him who were some of the advertisers and he mentioned Humanware, Anheuser-Busch and The Perkins School.
AC: What kinds of subjects and people do you want on your show?
MG: Anybody. We've have all types of people, judo for the blind, doctors from Australia, Olympic athletes, and the manager of Stevie Wonder. We also had a blind sportscaster. The commercials we do are different, all blindness related.
AC: What overall message do you want readers to know about Blind Matters?
MG: The show is about heart. Just call us, talk about whatever. Our goal is to get the disenfranchised to belong to something. We know that there is a difference before blindness and after blindness. We can help people understand that there is more to your life than your sight.
What a great way to support the blindness community. 
I personally want to thank Michael and Lynn for inviting us onto an upcoming show. Romeo and I will be on the radio waves on September 28. 
To listen to the show, go to: 1520am WBZW - THE BIZ - Orlando, Florida OR Listen live directly from www.blindmattersradioshow.com


David Goldfield
Computer Technology Instructor
919 Walnut Street
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Philadelphia, PA  19107

215-627-0600 ext 3277
FAX:  215-922-0692

dgoldfie at asb.org 
www.asb.org

Serving Philadelphia's and the nation's blind and visually impaired population since 1874.