Volunteering with the Talking Newspaper
This case study looks the Kensington and Chelsea Talking
Newspaper in a conversation with Philip Black, chairman of the
charity.
What is a talking newspaper?
It’s more or less what it sounds like – we make audio tape
recordings of a selection of local news stories. For many people
who are blind or partially sighted, or just have trouble reading,
the talking newspaper gives them a way to find out about the things
that most of us take for granted because we can just pick up the
Royal Borough – or any other paper.
What goes onto the tapes?
Each edition includes some of the most important and interesting
stories from around Kensington and Chelsea. We produce a 60- minute
tape every two weeks with news and features, official notices from
organisations like the Council and other items like poems, recipes,
film reviews or quotations. It’s like a magazine or a lively local
radio show with a bit of everything mixed together.
And how do they get produced?
We rely on volunteers playing one of four different roles. Each
tape starts off with an editor who looks through the local
newspapers to find a good selection of stories. We then meet on a
Tuesday evening, when a group of readers and a sound engineer –
again volunteers – rehearse and record. The final recording then
gets copied and sent out to the members of our volunteer despatch
team. The tapes are free to all our members; we have very low
running costs thanks to our volunteers and the Council allowing us
to use the facilities free.
Are you looking for more volunteers?
We need people who can spare a few hours once every six weeks to
work as an editor or a sound technician. The job of an editor is to
create a tape that is fun, informative and – most importantly –
interesting. It’s a really stimulating task and editors also get to
find out lots about the borough themselves. We also need more
people to do the sound recordings: it is technical but our
equipment is quite straightforward. These roles would be great for
people wanting experience in the broadcast media, or for
journalists and broadcasters who can use their skills to help reach
blind and partially-sighted residents. You don’t need previous
experience, you just need to be willing to come along and
learn.
Do you get much feedback from your listeners?
Listeners often tell us that the talking newspaper is a lifeline
for them. Some people rarely leave their homes will but come to our
annual meeting so they can thank the volunteers in person and say
how much they value the talking newspaper. We have had people
telling us that they always look forward to the tape and that it
really keeps them in touch with what’s going on locally.
So the talking newspaper is not just something to listen
to?
Not at all. Blind or partially-sighted people might get London
and national news from the television or radio, but we provide a
special mix of local news and added interest stories. It’s just one
of the little things that can prevent people from feeling isolated
and excluded – from hearing about community events to information
about roadworks. We have 100 members but there are over more than
1,000 residents in Kensington and Chelsea who are blind or
partially sighted. I’m sure some of these people would enjoy
listening to the talking newspaper – so if your readers know anyone
who would enjoy a free regular copy of the borough’s very own
talking newspaper they should let us know.
Contact the Talking Newspaper
To pass on a name of someone who would enoy listening to the
newspaper or to volunteer to help, email: kctalkingnewspaper@gmail.com
or call 020 7727 7626.