24 informonline.org.au
24 informonline.org.au Feature Revolutionary Radio Tune your radio dial to 1197AM on a Monday morning in Melbourne and you’ll hear readings from The Age and The Herald Sun on The Morning Paper Round. Swing back at 1pm for Afternoon Live and two hours of ‘light, bright and entertaining readings’ and if you’re looking for something a little more serious, try The Conversation at 5pm, a current affairs and news show that features readings from The Conversation website. These programs can be found on Vision Australia Radio, a radio service for people with a print disability with a monthly audience of more than 700,000 people. Five million Australians have a print disability. From learning and literacy disabilities like dyslexia to physical disabilities including arthritis, spinal disability, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy to vision impairments, the audience for radio services like Vision Australia Radio is as diverse as it is large. The origins of today’s Vision Australia Radio services can be found in programs broadcast on radio stations in the 1970s in Melbourne. One of those shows was A Blind Affair. With a dual goal of providing information and resources for people with vision impairments as well as educating the wider public about the lived experience of people with a vision impairment, A Blind Affair was the precursor to the establishment of specialised radio services for people with a print disability in 1978. For Conrad Browne, the manager of Vision Australia Radio, the revolutionary roots of the radio services broadcast by Vision Australia in Victoria, South Australia and
Feature informonline.org.au 25 Western Australia are matched by their contemporary innovation. ‘It was a quite an interesting way of using the community radio network to deliver this service publicly. In a way, it was really revolutionary, because you were using something that reaches a lot of people in a way that was truly accessible. Everyone had a radio in their home,’ he said. ‘As time has gone on, a lot of changes have occurred within the space. But still, to this day, we primarily deliver readings of newspapers, books, and magazines alongside specialist programming,’ Conrad said. ‘It's a really interesting format for radio as well. It literally is relaying information. There's no editorialising, there's no commentary. It's a skill. And it's a really interesting way of delivering that information. But using radio to do it just makes a lot of sense,’ Conrad said. Vision Australia Radio broadcasts shows covering news and current affairs alongside specialist programming about topics as wide-ranging as film, finance, health, gardening, politics, pop culture and sport. More recently, the organisation has worked to engage people within the blind, low vision and print disability community to share their stories and lived experience, shifting them from the audience and into the studio. ’We're branching out into what I think of as really traditional community radio, which is having more programming being delivered by our community of interest,’ Conrad said. With more than 800 volunteers across the country and an audience of more than 700,000 monthly listeners, the Vision Australia Radio network includes 15 AM radio services in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, seven services in regional Victoria and five digital radio services available online or on digital radio. You can support the work of Vision Australia Radio at www.varadio.org Vision Australia Radio Shows Afternoon Live A ‘daily breath of fresh air’, Afternoon Live features entertaining readings from newspapers and magazines and can be heard from 1pm-3pm, Monday to Friday. Computalk Airing on Mondays at 3pm, Computalk discusses new technology and gadgets, providing advice on computers. The show is hosted by Tony Egan and is repeated on Saturdays at 4pm. The Uncertainty Principle Reading articles from New Scientist, Scientific American, Australasian Science and Cosmos, The Uncertainty Principle explores all areas of science. The program airs on Tuesdays at 6pm and is repeated on Thursdays at 8pm. Cover to Cover If you love short stories, you’ll love Cover to Cover. Airing on Fridays at 8pm and replayed on Sundays at 1:30pm, Cover to Cover sees host Tim McQueen deliver readings from books and short stories. On This Day A short, sharp jump back in time, On This Day is hosted by Nick Green and covers interesting, intriguing and historical events in politics, sport, science, crime, among other topics that happened on the day in question. Talking Law As the name suggests, Talking Law looks at what is happening in the courts and features both commentary and analysis. The program airs on Sunday at 2pm and is repeated on Monday at 8pm.
