Introducing NFB-NEWSLINE®, the free electronic newspaper service for the blind and low vision.
For more information, call:  (866) 504-7300.

OVERVIEW
Would you like a newspaper with your morning cup of coffee? NFB-NEWSLINE® added its 250th newspaper in 2007 AND it’s still growing. Four Spanish-language newspapers are now available to all subscribers.  The service handles thousands of phone calls each day for individuals across the country who now access daily newspapers and magazines as never before. The toll-free centralized call-in center provides service on demand to any subscriber. This also enables those who cannot read conventional print to have access to all content offered on NFB-NEWSLINE® when traveling throughout the United States twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

 

INTRODUCTION:
Hello Everyone,

Because I think it important, I have decided to post the following newsletter I received from the National Federation of the Blind that discusses, in part, how daily local and national newspapers can be accessed, free of charge, by the blind and low vision via email or telephone.

Please pass this information along to everyone for you never know who is ready to get on board the NFB NewsLiner.  (Smile) 

Mark

NOTE:
I have removed all personal email addresses from the following newsletter in order to avoid any SPAM being sent to the good people at NFB.

THE NFB-NEWSLINER
The Newsletter for Subscribers to NewsLine for the Blind

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!  Call (866) 504-300 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 the NFB. 

For a wealth of information on NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit our website at
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Newspapers_by_Phone.asp

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 the Marketing and Outreach Manager, (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 efforts—and 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! 

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 the Marketing Manager at (410) 659-9314, extension 2411 so we can 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
(410) 659-9314.