NFB-NEWSLINE® Now Available in South Carolina

Free Service Offers Independent News Access to Blind and Print-Disabled South Carolina Residents

COLUMBIA, S.C., April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina is pleased to announce today the availability of NFB-NEWSLINE® to all blind and print-disabled South Carolina residents.  NFB-NEWSLINE® is a free service that allows those who cannot read conventional newsprint due to a visual or physical disability to access hundreds of local and national publications as well as job and TV listings over the telephone or via online methods.  Using this innovative service, individuals who would otherwise not be able to read a newspaper can access, at any time and at any place, the same essential and entertaining news that their neighbors, classmates, and colleagues enjoy.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "I believe every blind person in America should have access to NFB-NEWSLINE®, and I am thrilled that blind South Carolina residents can now benefit from the availability of this invaluable service.  NFB-NEWSLINE® caters to the interests of a wide variety of individuals with local and national publications as well as job and TV listings, allowing blind people, for the first time ever, to read the same edifying and exciting content as their colleagues."

Parnell Diggs, president of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina, said: "I love knowing what's going on in the world around me, and NFB-NEWSLINE® affords me that ability.  Further, I very much appreciate that with NFB-NEWSLINE®, blind people are not dependent on others to read the news to us; instead, we have the same flexibility and autonomy that any sighted person would with a traditional print newspaper.  Finally, the news is not what someone else decides is important; rather, NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers get to make the choice of what to read and when to read it."

James Kirby, commissioner of South Carolina's Commission for the Blind, said: "I am very pleased that NFB-NEWSLINE® is available in South Carolina, as we firmly believe that access equals success for blind individuals.  This media mirrors and supports the goals that the Commission for the Blind has for the print-disabled in that it fosters and facilitates independence, choice, and engagement, and assists our consumers in achieving success.  The availability of job listings is of special importance to our agency's consumers, as it offers blind people the ability to independently access thousands of job listings from all across the state, a most valuable tool in securing gainful employment."

NFB-NEWSLINE®, a free service, allows those who cannot read conventional newsprint due to a visual or physical disability to independently access a variety of publications as well as customizable TV and job listings over the telephone, on the Web, or by download to a digital talking book player or MP3-playing device.  Offering over three hundred publications—including state and national newspapers and up-to-the-minute wire feeds as well as dozens of magazines—NFB-NEWSLINE® enables blind and physically impaired individuals to get the information they need, when they need it.

To learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit www.nfbnewsline.org.  Those interested in subscribing to the service may fill out the online application form, write to [email protected], or call (866) 504-7300.  

About the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina

The National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina (NFBSC) is a non-profit, private organization of the blind working together to improve the quality of life for all blind people in South Carolina. In order for its influence to be felt on a national level, the NFBSC is affiliated with the National Federation of the Blind, the nation's oldest and largest organization open to all the blind. With more than 2,000 members, the NFBSC consists of 60 affiliated organizations, 57 of which are local chapters located throughout the state.

SOURCE National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina