The South West Dorset Talking Newspaper, a charity providing local news as well as a weekly magazine to visually impaired people, has announced that the service is to soon close after 36 years. A statement on the SWDTN website reads:
“After 36 wonderful years, we’re calling it a day. Thanks to the wonder of technology, it’s now possible to access a wide range of news and magazine-style items 24hrs a day, 365 days a year. Essentially, this means our job is done.”
Starting in 1987, the talking newspaper recordings were sent to listeners by post on various types of media according to the technology of the day, but the SWDTN say that a weekly service using that distribution method has a “finite appeal” considering the progress of the Internet and the devices that connect to it. Declining demand for the service has also led to the decision to no longer accept new listeners and eventually close.
The statement continues: “Whilst we are still providing a service for the time being, we will be closing soon. We’d like to thank everyone for their support over the years. It has been a pleasure to serve you.”
KeeP 106 presenters Peter and Heather Foster were involved with the SWDTN for several years, producing a monthly Dorchester edition of the magazine with a Dorchester-based news team. Much of the material was also shared with Ridgeway Radio, the former radio station at Dorset County Hospital.
Heather writes: “Initially the weekly recordings were overseen by Arthur and Audrey Stubbs who had converted their attic in Weymouth into a studio for copying cassette tapes. These tapes had 45 minutes of local news on one side and a 45 minute magazine programme on the other. The production studio moved to rooms in the basement of the Portland Town Council Offices and more recently to locations in Weymouth. Teams of Newsreaders and Magazine presenters met on a weekly rostered basis. The SWDTN was one of the few Talking Newspapers to produce a weekly tape for their listeners, the cassette tape being posted out in a returnable wallet to around 400 blind and partially-sighted recipients in the South and West Dorset area, although this number did diminish aver time.
“Time and technology moved on and non returnable CDs were introduced, and in more recent years USB memory sticks which could be returned by the listener for re-copying. The actual production of a master News and Magazine for bulk copying was something of a military exercise for the volunteers involved. It was known that the SWDTN was much appreciated by listeners who looked forward to their weekly recording coming through the letterbox.”
The images below showing the current studio area are taken from the South West Dorset Talking Newspaper Facebook page with their kind permission
