Welcome to Shaftesbury Area Talking Newspaper
(Say SAT’N for short)
- What is the Talking Newspaper?
- Who can receive the Talking Newspaper?
- How can I listen to the News?
- How often is the News published?
What is the Shaftesbury Area Talking Newspaper?
The service started in February 1993 to bring audio recordings of local news to any listener with impaired vision in our area. Initially we recorded the News on C90 Compact Cassettes which were distributed free of charge using the First Class Mail. All that the listeners needed to have was a simple cassette player to hear the News. In due course, cassettes were found to be vulnerable to damage while being recorded and played, and we began recording onto digital USB sticks, and many other Talking Newspapers followed suit. This made the whole process of recording and mailing the News much quicker and simpler, but listeners had to forgo their cassette players and adopt USB players instead. Return to Top
Who can receive the Talking Newspaper?
To qualify for the free delivery of the News to your home, you must be registered blind, or unable to read print of 14 points or less. Return to Top
How can I listen to the News?
Simple USB players can be obtained online from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) or from Synapptic, and in some cases we can loan a player to a listener to try out the service before committing to a purchase. If you have an Alexa device, there is another way of listening, through the Talking News Federation (TNF) and details are given here. If you have a computer with an internet browser, then you can go directly to https://www.upload.hear.media/player/?tn=shatfstn
How often is the Talking Newspaper published?
Fortnightly, synchronising with the publication of our main source of local news: The New Blackmore Vale Magazine. Return to Top