The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc.: Background Information

The multi-media boutique charity organization that operates VoicePrint, AudioVision Canada and The Accessible Channel.

For a better Canada, NBRS plays a leading role in promoting access, inclusion and greater participation by people living with a disability in their community, in society generally and in enjoying a better quality of life.

The NBRS Vision
To reduce barriers to media faced by vision-and print-restricted Canadians.

The NBRS Mission
To partner with others to provide services and products that assist print-restricted Canadians reduce or overcome barriers to media and print information.

Overview
The National Broadcasting Reading Service Inc. (NBRS), a non-profit Canadian success story, was established in 1989 on the recommendation of Parliament's Standing Committee of the Status of Disabled Persons. The committee's report, "No News is Bad News," stated that vision- and print-restricted Canadians must have equal access to published news and information. The enterprise was set up to "reduce media barriers faced by vision- and print- restricted Canadians and others."

What kind of media?  The media of everyday life: newspapers, magazines, TV, movies, the Internet and much more - the sources of news, information and entertainment that all citizens in a democracy must have in order to make informed decisions and to enhance their quality of life.

Included in this surprisingly large but often underserved demographic of more than 5 million Canadians, are people with low or no sight, those living with a physical or learning disability, or those with a desire to improve their literacy skills or learn English as a second language.  A significant percentage of Canada's vision- and print-restricted population falls into this demographic due to diabetes, macular degeneration, stroke or other impairments associated with aging.

They are confronted by an often overlooked barrier to their personal independence: a communication barrier.

Specifically,

• Barriers that prevent them from enjoying and independently accessing current news and information from such sources as newspapers, magazines and government websites.
  OR
• Barriers that prevent blind and low-vision people from accessing on-screen information and enjoying entertainment such as movies, TV programs and documentaries.

Our goal at NBRS is to make Canada a more accessible home for all of its citizens, and we attempt to do our part through the creation and operation of accessible media services, including three that truly are global leaders:

1. VOICEPRINT, established in 1990.

One of VoicePrint's listeners says the service is "a light in a dark world." One recent Senate report on the media stated recently that: "News matters. No real democracy can operate without informing people about the way their society works, what is going well and, perhaps more important, what's not going well and needs to be improved."  For 17 years VoicePrint has been Canada's leading provider of audio versions of published current news and information.  That is why in licensing our independent audio reading service the Canadian Radio Television Commission described its decision to be "not only in the public interest but a matter of national importance."  VoicePrint is, in fact, the world's largest audio-reading service in terms of number of homes accessed.

2. AUDIOVISION CANADA (AVC), established in 1995.

AudioVision is a pioneer in what is known as "described programming," which gives people who are blind or vision-impaired what closed-captioning gives people who are deaf or hearing-impaired - accessible on-screen entertainment and information. AudioVision is a leading provider of video description services and products, having done descriptions for numerous productions, such as "Monster's Ball" and "The Greatest Canadian Series." As one viewer explained, "My first experience with described video was very emotional. I found myself pacing the floor in tearful disbelief. I was able to see with my ear what most people see with their eyes."

3. THE ACCESSIBLE CHANNEL (TAC), established in 2007; fall 2008 launch.

With the tagline "News. Entertainment. Inclusion," The Accessible Channel soon will broadcast 24/7 "described" and "closed-captioned" versions of popular, current TV shows and favorite movies to a broad audience.  As one supporter has said: "With The Accessible Channel people will know that just because they're blind or vision-restricted, they're not excluded from independent access to programming that everyone else has access to."

To better serve our audiences, NBRS would like to thank you for your support. 

Our service is broadcast into 10 million Canadians homes on cable TV, satellite and the Internet.

It also would be a terrific opportunity to discover just what prompted one NBRS supporter to state:

"VoicePrint is one of those brilliant, but seamless responses Canadians so often develop to meet a societal need."

VoicePrint can be accessed on the Secondary Audio Program of CBC Newsworld; on Star Choice (ch 825), ExpressVu (ch 49 & 967), Look TV (ch 400); Rogers Digital (ch 196); Eastlink Digital (ch 394); and Aliant Digital (ch 998); and at www.voiceprintcanada.com.

AudioVision Canada www.audiovisioncanada.com

Charitable registration number: 128778552R0001

• 1-800-567-6755
• Charitable Registration # 128778552R0001