[Promotion-technology] NFB-NEWSLINE Subscriber Newsletter

[White, Scott]

NFB-Newsliner

The Newsletter for Subscribers


All aboard the Newsliner!

Welcome to the maiden voyage of NFB-Newsliner, 
the newsletter for NFB-NEWSLINE® 
subscribers.  The intent of this newsletter is to 
inform you of important news and updates 
regarding this unique and empowering service, and 
to help maximize your enjoyment as a user.  You 
are receiving this newsletter because you are one 
of the individuals for whom we have an e-mail 
address (perhaps you are one of the ever-growing 
number who receives their news via e-mail?) and 
because we feel the time has come to open up a 
line of communication with you.  We understand 
that you don't want your email inbox overwhelmed, 
so we plan to only send you information we think 
you can really use; you can expect an email from 
us two to three times per month.  In addition to 
our desire to ensure that this service is 
everything that it can be for you, and to alert 
you to improvements and expansions, we also want 
to hear from you!  Please write to Scott White at 
swhite at nfb.org with your suggestions and as 
always, you can call our helpline at (866) 
504-7300 with any questions you may have.  If you 
have forgotten your login codes, or if you wish 
to receive a tutorial tape or print User’s Guide, 
please contact Carylin Walton at 
cwalton at nfb.org.  For a wealth of information on 
NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit our website at www.nfbnewsline.org.

Portholes

Do you have a certain columnist who you never 
miss?  Is there a certain section of your local 
paper that you look forward to each week?  If so, 
please pass along your preference so that it can 
be included in this subscriber’s 
newsletter.  Whether it is sports commentator’s 
enthusiastic review of baseball statistics or a 
food writer’s unique take on tofu, your favorite 
part of the paper could also be somebody else’s 
must-read article too!  Contact Renée West, 
Marketing and Outreach Manager, at rwest at nfb.org 
or (410) 659-9314, extension 2411, so that she 
can feature your favorite(s) in the next issue of NFB-Newsliner!

What’s Current?

Since July of 1995, blind people have been using 
their telephone to sail into the sea of 
information.  With the advent of the 
NFB-NEWSLINE® service, members of the 
print-disabled community could be as thoroughly 
informed of election results, edamame recipes, 
and economic reports as the next (sighted) 
guy.  While phone calls and e-mails function as 
the anchor of our service, we continue to build 
on our (and your) prior efforts­and now we’re 
exploring new and exciting ways blind folks can 
get the news they need, when they need it.  Two 
initiatives are making headway:

News via the Victor Reader Stream
A companion software program for the PC will be 
crafted in conjunction with a Web site where 
subscribers can select daily newspapers to be 
directly delivered to their computer each 
morning.  The software will then automatically 
transfer the selected daily newspapers to the 
Humanware Victor Reader Stream.  The user can 
then take this portable, pocket-sized device and 
read the selected material at their convenience.
Currently, some subscribers who lack technical 
experience may find tackling the process of 
transferring content from their email to their 
Victor Reader Stream a bit 
inconvenient.  However, when the automated 
process is rolled out, getting your daily news 
will be as simple as plugging your VR Stream into your computer.

News on the Net
A secure Web site will be developed where 
subscribers can login to view their daily 
newspaper or magazine of choice.  This Web site 
is to be optimized for ease of use by persons 
using adaptive technology such as screen readers 
and enlargement software programs.  Additionally, 
this Web site will be designed to be efficiently 
used by persons of all levels of technical 
expertise.  One really excellent feature of the 
newspapers-by-website experience is that, in 
addition to featuring full content, subscribers 
can do an allover search for a key term.  This 
means that one can find every instance of the 
term “pirate” within all sections of a newspaper, 
whether it is within the technology or 
entertainment pages.  This amazing functionality 
puts on board a new ability for members of the 
print-disabled community to do research for 
homework or career, and makes getting informed a ballast, er, blast!

(Broad)casting Off

Do you love having free access day or night to 
over 260 newspapers and magazines on the 
NFB-NEWSLINE® service?  Do you enjoy the 
unprecedented ability to become informed through 
the availability of seven excellent magazines, 
local and national Associated Press releases, and 
six Spanish-language offerings?  Can you not 
fathom how you ever got along without this 
service?  Do you know another print-disabled 
individual who would benefit from using 
NFB-NEWSLINE®?  We want to help you in telling 
others about this special service.  If you have a 
blind friend or are a member of a support group 
for blind people, or if you live near a 
retirement community, or know someone who is 
incapable of reading the newspaper for any 
reason, you can serve as an integral element in 
our efforts to promote NFB-NEWSLINE®.  We can 
provide you with help in targeting and talking to 
a group of one or a hundred about the service, 
and can help you receive marketing materials to 
aid in your presentation.  Please call Renée West 
to discuss how you can reel in new subscribers!

Scott A. White
Director of Sponsored Technology Programs
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
1800 Johnson Street
Baltimore, Maryland  21230
Telephone:  (410) 659-9314, ext. 2231
Fax:  (410) 685-5653
Email: <mailto:swhite at nfb.org>swhite at nfb.org