Talking Newspaper goes digital with help from Sibelco
January 2009
With assistance from Sibelco UK, 2009 will see a change in the way in which Sandbach & District Talking Newspaper delivers it weekly news recordings to visually impaired listeners.
The charity, set up over 20 years ago and run entirely by volunteers, has always recorded local news bulletins and other items onto audio cassette tapes, which are then delivered to around 100 listeners each week. From the first week of February, Sandbach & District Talking Newspaper will be "going digital". For its listeners this means that instead of receiving their weekly recordings on cassette tape, they will receive them on a memory stick which they can listen to on a new, simple-to-use MP3 playback device provided free-of-charge.
Sibelco UK has extended its long-standing sponsorship for a further year, creating much-needed funds for the Talking Newspaper.
Amanda Roberts, Sibelco UK’s Community Relations Officer, commented: "We’re very proud of our association with Sandbach & District Talking Newspaper and delighted to be extending our sponsorship. The team here provide an invaluable community service and I hope our donation will contribute to their ongoing success and further growth."Charles Baker, digital equipment manager of the Talking Newspaper, said: "The move to digital technology has been a massive new venture for the Talking Newspaper and has involved a large amount of additional work for a group of volunteers. As we have no official funding, the sponsorship from Sibelco UK and other donors has been vital in allowing us to make this change."