Sheffield Talking Newspaper
In 2016/17 we decided to upgrade and update our website, and as a result of user feedback we identified the need to offer our recordings in various formats that would be fully accessible to visually impaired, online listeners - including offering recordings as podcasts.
We thought this would pose a daunting technical task, and all advice was that if we took this requirement to an outside developer it would prove very expensive. It was at this point that we discovered the web player offered by Talking Newspaper Services Limited and we recognised with some glee that it met all our requirements, plus offering extras – such as allowing listeners to scan through items at double speed.
We have some digitally adept visually impaired users and on trying out the player they gave it a full thumbs-up. As well as offering its web player TNS also provides a telephone service whereby listeners can ‘phone a dedicated number to hear a client’s output via various menu items as well as receiving a bundle of other services such as Infosound and RNIB’s output.
A final point is that having the web player and the telephone service, we can now explore ways to offer additional local information to our listeners. Sheffield Theatres have been delighted to let us put this information on the TNS web player and on the telephone service, so allowing Sheffield Talking News to provide added local information to our listeners – information which they might otherwise not have accessed.
We also recognise that in working this way some visually impaired people may discover Sheffield Talking News for the first time on 0114 383 0345
In short, all positive and no real negatives.
John Stratford
Technical Co-ordinator for Sheffield Talking News