> FOX Introduces Descriptive Narration on Five Series
> 
> The Media Access Group at WGBH Provides Description Services
> 
> BOSTON, MA March 28, 2002.  Beginning April 1, 2002, the FOX Broadcasting
> Company will premiere video description on five of its most popular series—
> THE BERNIE MAC SHOW, BOSTON PUBLIC, MAGIC SCHOOL BUS, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE
> and THE SIMPSONS.  Video description, developed in 1990 by WGBH, Boston's
> public broadcaster, makes television more accessible to the nation's 12
> million viewers who are blind or visually impaired.
> 
> The Media Access Group at WGBH is providing description services for each of
> these FOX series. Funding for the description is provided by FOX Broadcasting
> Company and the US Department of Education.
> 
> THE BERNIE MAC SHOW:  Airing Wednesday nights 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT on FOX, this
> daring, new half-hour comedy, the recipient of a 2001 Peabody Award for
> broadcast excellence, is inspired by the real-life of stand-up comedian Bernie
> Mac— a family man with unique views on parenting.
> 
> BOSTON PUBLIC:  Airing Monday nights 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT on FOX, this
> thought-provoking, hour-long drama from creator/writer/producer David E.
> Kelley (ALLY MCBEAL, THE PRACTICE) goes inside Winslow High, an urban high
> school outside of Boston where Principal Steven Harper spends his days putting
> out fires, defending his faculty and keeping things going.
> 
> MAGIC SCHOOL BUS:  In this animated, kids science series, Ms. Frizzle and her
> students ride the magic, transformable school bus to experience how things
> work from the inside out.  Each trip provides young viewers with fascinating,
> behind-the-scenes adventures in the name of science.  Check local FOX listings
> for broadcast schedule.
> 
> MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE:  Airing Sunday nights 8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT, this popular
> and inventive comedy, which won the 2000 Peabody Award, tells the story of a
> middle-class family with four squabbling brothers, as seen through the eyes of
> Malcolm— a "normal" kid with a genius IQ.
> 
> THE SIMPSONS:  Now in its 13th hit season, this animated sitcom, created by
> Matt Groening follows the colorful everyday lives of the Simpson family—
> Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie— and other residents of Springfield.
> Airs Sunday nights 8:00-8:30 PM ET/PT.
> 
> Descriptive Video Service® (DVS®) provides descriptive narration of key visual
> elements— making television programs, feature films, home videos and other
> visual media accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.  Key
> visual elements are those that viewers who are visually impaired would
> ordinarily miss, such as actions, costumes, gestures, facial expressions,
> scene changes and on-screen text.  Inserted within the natural pauses in
> dialogue, audio descriptions of important visual details help to engage these
> viewers with the story.
> 
> Viewers can access description on their stereo-equipped televisions or VCRs
> through the Second Audio Program or SAP channel.  Stand-alone SAP receivers
> also are available (these can be used with or without a television; a list of
> vendors can be found at dvs.wgbh.org).  Most TVs and VCRs purchased since 1992
> are equipped with the SAP feature.  To hear the narrated visual descriptions
> through a stereo TV or VCR, simply activate its SAP feature.
> 
> In addition to these FOX series, the Media Access Group at WGBH provides video
> description on a wide variety of programs broadcast on PBS, as well as on
> selected programs on CBS and Nickelodeon, and numerous films on the Turner
> Classic Movies cable network.  First-run feature films (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, E.T.
> THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, PANIC ROOM, SPIDER-MAN) are made accessible via closed
> captioning and description technologies WGBH developed for theaters, and which
> are now installed across the U.S. and Canada.  For a complete list of
> described programs and films, visit access.wgbh.org or call the toll-free DVS
> information line at 800-333-1203.
> 
> The Media Access Group at WGBH is a non-profit service with offices in Boston,
> Los Angeles, and New York.  The Group includes Descriptive Video Service ®
> (DVS®), which has made television, film and video more enjoyable to audiences
> who are blind or visually impaired since 1990, and The Caption Center— the
> world’s first captioning agency— which has made audiovisual media accessible
> to audiences who are deaf or hard-of-hearing since 1972. The third branch of
> the Media Access Group, the CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media, is
> a research, development and advocacy entity that works to make existing and
> emerging technologies accessible to all audiences.  Members of the Group’s
> collective staff represent the leading resources and experts in their fields.
> For more information about access services, visit the Media Access Group Web
> site access.wgbh.org or call 617-300-3600 (voice and TTY).
> 
> ###
> 
> 
> 
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