From: "Mike Pietruk" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 10, 2004 9:34 PM


> KellyYour point is well made except for one thing:  Newsline users likely
are
> not computer users.  While you and me as computer users comfortable in web
> surfing and searchingsee this as fiscally sound reasoning, it makes no
> sense for someone who has never used a computer and may even be sdcared of
> one.

**Mike, the Newsline user profiled in the article was an electrical
engineer.  I find it difficult to accept that someone with the training and
experience that comes with being an electrical engineer is scared of using a
computer or has never used one at any point in his lifetime.  Also, for
those who truly have never used a computer, does the synthesized voice
likely make them more comfortable or less comfortable in using the service?
For myself, it took me almost a year to get used to hearing things spoken
from a speech synthesizer.

For those uncomfortable with computers and speech synthesizers, there are
radio reading services.  In the past 25 years or so when radio reading
service became widely available in the United States, there has been an
explosion of news and information options available.  In addition to the
Internet and Newsline, there are multiple cable news and information
networks with basic cable packages starting with 60 channels and more than
100 easily available.  We also have direct broadcast satellite television,
making cable television programming available to those where cable doesn't
reach and offering a compelling option for others.  Satellite radio has
become available in the last few years, offering up scores of channels of
news and information programming. For those not using satellite radio, much
of the country, including all of my state, is now served by a National
Public Radio station that broadcasts primarily news and information.
Further, since the late 1980s, talk radio has exploded as an offering on AM
radio.  Now, more Americans listen to the top three radio talk show hosts
then watch the three evening network news broadcasts.  When all of this is
taken together, blind people have a variety of ways to meet their
information access needs.  I guess then it is no surprise that only 35
people in South Carolina use Newsline.  Shouldn't program participation be
used as one of the factors to determine success of a program?  Do the
numbers speak for themselves?  Might the blind community be saying with its
low participation that the service may be nice but we are really not
interested in it?

Kelly


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