INTRODUCING THE RADIO READING NETWORK

Nineteen (19) AM/FM community radio services make up Australia’s unique Radio Reading Network. Radio Reading Newtwork is dedicated to informing and empowering the estimated 5 million Australians, a significant 22% of the population, living with vision loss.

Reaching 70% of the Australian population, the network enables Australians with a print disability access to daily print media. It provides this access by combining the depth of print media information with the immediacy and intimacy of radio.

Trained volunteers and staff prepare and read from a broad range of national, state and local newspapers and other high-turnover print materials, including magazines. They also serialise books for broadcast and broadcast important information segments including government information.

The Radio Reading Network operates with the assistance of 1,500 dedicated volunteers. Together the stations broadcast over 1,750 hours of specialist programs each week to 179,000 listeners each week and half a million each month.

Radio Reading enables all Australians to participate in the community’s cultural, political, and social life – irrespective of their ability to read printed material.

Who listens to The Radio Reading Network?

This network is for everyone! With a passion for inclusivity, the Radio Reading Network strives to empower all individuals with a print disability, granting them equal access to information, entertainment, and cultural enrichment. Through the power of spoken words, it opens doors and builds bridges, fostering a more inclusive society for all.

A vision impairment, or print disability, means that a person is affected by a condition which limits their ability to access print or published material. Some of the listeners to Radio Reading include persons with a:

Vision Impairment – conditions of the eye which include cataract, age related macular degeneration, and uncorrected refractive error.

Learning Impairment – including dyslexia or attention impairment,

Physical Impairment – such as arthritis, spinal condition, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. Literacy impairment – including the ability to speak but not read English.

Students of English as a second language find Radio Reading broadcasts helpful for a similar reason. By reading the newspaper as they tune in to Radio Reading’s alternate-format programming, they match the sounds with the written words and learn spelling, pronunciation and spoken emphasis.

The Radio Reading Network’s purpose is to provide a service that gives access to published material and curated content that informs, educates, enables, and entertains.