Newsline Brochure

Newsline                                                               




  

 

 





National Federation of the Blind | 1800 Johnson Street | Baltimore, MD 21230 





FREE SERVICE TO THOSE WHO CANNOT READ REGULAR NEWSPRINT! 








CENTRALIZED SERVICE! TOLL FREE: 1-888-882-1629


As of March 1, 2002, National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® reached another 
milestone. The service now handles thousands of phone calls through our 
centralized service each day for individuals across the country who can now 
access the daily newspapers as never before. The toll-free centralized call-in 
center provides service without delay to any subscriber. This also enables those 
who cannot read conventional print to have access to newspapers on NFB-NEWSLINE® 
when traveling throughout the United States.The upgrades will allow for 
additional options such as other language papers to be placed on the system. 
The NFB-NEWSLINE® user can easily choose which newspaper, section, and article 
to read with the use of a standard touch-tone phone. Each day, with his or her 
morning coffee, the user can choose that day's, the previous day's, and the 
previous Sunday's issue of each newspaper on the service. The menu provided 
allows the user to change the speed and voice quality, spell out, or search for 
words.





NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND NEWSLINE® 
PROVIDES NATIONAL AND LOCAL NEWSPAPERS! 
Service provides today's, yesterday's, and the previous Sunday's issue.
The National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® now provides dozens of newspapers 
such as USA Today, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles 
Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Dozens of local papers are also available 
each day to subscribers. In addition to carrying the news, local sites can use 
one or more special channels to distribute announcements of specific interest to 
the blind.



NFB-NEWSLINE® Needs Partners


New local sites must be funded. Members of the National Federation of the Blind 
are working to establish new centers as quickly as possible. To do this, it is 
necessary to obtain funding commitments from interested organizations, agencies, 
and individuals. In light of the need and the cost-effective benefits of 
NFB-NEWSLINE®, the National Federation of the Blind must develop partnerships. 




Synthetic Speech Used for Menu and Choices 


The user can easily select newspaper, section, and article of interest.
The National Federation of the Blind has designed this revolutionary, totally 
electronic system to receive digital transmissions from newspapers on the 
morning of publication, reformat the data for conversion to synthetic speech, 
and upload to the National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE®. By just dialing a 
toll-free number, dozens of newspapers are now available over any touch-tone 
telephone using synthetic speech. Blind and visually impaired individuals become 
eligible for this free service by filling out a simple application. Soon 
thereafter the individual is sent his or her identification number from the 
National Federation of the Blind headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, or their 
state's local sponsor.





Who can benefit from NFB-NEWSLINE®? 
Anyone who cannot read conventional newsprint could qualify for this free 
service. Many seniors have lost enough vision that reading the daily newspaper 
is no longer possible. They will enjoy being able once again to participate 
actively in community affairs. Blind children are now able to research their own 
civics assignments and do their homework independently.
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® is the only service that makes so 
much information available to blind people 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
When on vacation, or on a business trip, readers can access National Federation 
of the Blind NEWSLINE® with the toll-free phone number for that state, from any 
touch-tone phone and entering their personal ID and security codes.
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® is easy and convenient!




How to use NFB-NEWSLINE® 


With only a touch-tone telephone, anyone can access the National Federation of 
the Blind NEWSLINE® system. The reader needs no computer and no special 
training. After entering an ID number and security code, the system prompts new 
callers to make their selections. Readers press 1 for Newspapers, 2 for the 
Local Information Channel, or 3 for NFB-NEWSLINE® News.
When choosing the Newspaper option, readers can choose from today's paper, 
yesterday's paper, and the Sunday paper (if one is published). Once in the 
paper, readers choose the section of the newspaper they wish to read: sports, 
news, business section, and more. Pressing a single key on the telephone keypad 
will quickly move readers from one article to the next, skip ahead in the 
article, return to a previous article, change the speaking speed, change the 
reading voice, or spell out words. The keystrokes are few and easy to remember. 
But if the readers forget, NFB-NEWSLINE® reminds callers each time they call in 
to check the help page to review it.
Pressing 2 will access the Local Information Channel. This channel will have 
important information about other services and items of interest to blind 
individuals in that community. Information about blindness is not always easy 
for the newly blinded person to find, let alone use to advantage. This may be 
one of the more important components of the National Federation of the Blind 
NEWSLINE® system for some readers.
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® News lists the telephone numbers for 
each state. Other items of national interest may also appear on this channel.



NOW THE BLIND HAVE ACCESS TO NEWSPAPER INFORMATION 
Lifetime learning, including detailed awareness of current events, is part of 
what makes a good citizen, a successful employee or employer, and a valuable 
participant in community life. Without ready access to information, none of us 
can reach his or her full potential. Until 1995, the nation's blind did not have 
the promise of ready access to a fundamental source of such information-the 
daily newspaper. But now the National Federation of the Blind has created 
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE®.
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® is at last making it possible for 
blind individuals to gain access to the information in newspapers at the same 
time as their sighted colleagues, friends, and family members. Blind 
professionals, for example, can now converse on relevant topics, no longer being 
underinformed about information critical to their professions or left out at 
social functions when the latest editorial is discussed. Beyond this, a wealth 
of other information primarily found in newspapers is now also available to the 
blind on an equal footing, making possible their participation in the life of 
the community on the basis of equality. The internet provides sighted 
individuals access to thousands of newspapers and magazines with just a quick 
search.
National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE® is the only system that will bring 
the blind so much to choose from, at the time when the subscriber wishes to 
read. More and more papers are beginning to understand that blind and visually 
disabled individuals, just as the sighted, need to have access to their local 
papers. The numbers of participating papers are steadily growing. If you wish to 
have your local paper on National Federation of the Blind NEWSLINE®, or are 
connected with a newspaper which would like to provide its text of your paper to 
those who can not read the print, contact the National Federation of the Blind 
at nfb@nfb.org.
Related Article in the January/February Braille Monitor


Now available throughout the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week: Dozens 
of newspapers! Just call: 1-888-882-1629

This page was last modified October 16, 2006 11:28 PM EST.