It's a ritual that takes place millions of times a day -- one that most people take for granted. A cup of coffee or tea is poured. The newspaper is picked up. And an individual begins to flip through the printed pages, immersing him or her self in the latest local, regional and national news.
But what about the 5 million Canadians who can't independently access newspapers, magazines or even a government document due to, for example, illiteracy, blindness, vision restriction, physical or learning disability or just getting older?
Where can they find more in-depth news and information than that offered by the major TV and radio broadcasters?
The answer: VoicePrint, the non-profit broadcast service which first went on the air in 1990 after being licensed by the CRTC. Our mandate: to deliver a steady and timely flow of information that is essential to the decision-making needs of our audience. To that end, VoicePrint broadcasts readings of full-text articles 24/7 from more than 100 of Canada's top newspapers and magazines into 10 million homes.
VoicePrint is the nation's only 24-hour reading service and the flagship division of The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. (NBRS). The service is volunteer-based, with more than 800 individuals donating their time and talent to record original programming at Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Sudbury, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and other large and small centres in our growing network of Local Broadcast Centres.
In March 2001 VoicePrint was designated a "must carry" service for most broadcast distribution undertakings. It is accessed by cable subscribers on the Secondary Audio Program (S.A.P.) of CBC Newsworld and through dedicated digital channels at Aliant, Eastlink and Rogers; it can also be accessed through dedicated audio channels on ExpressVu, Star Choice and Look and via the Internet at: www.voiceprintcanada.com.
Over the past 17 years, VoicePrint has broadcast more news and information programming than all other Canadian television stations combined, excluding CBC Newsworld.
Visit VoicePrint Canada's website |
