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The Talking Newspapers that need more listeners

Julie McCullough
BBC News NI
BBC A woman with short grey hair, a navy jacket and a colourful scarf looks towards the camera smiling while sitting in front of a microphoneBBC
Volunteer Hazel Semple used to find the process of recording the local newspaper stories nerve racking

"I find it a privilege to share my sight with people who are less lucky."

Hazel Semple is one of many people who volunteer their time – and their voice - to ensure local news is accessible for blind or partially-sighted people.

The group record and distribute audio versions of weekly newspapers to subscribers.

The Craigavon Area Talking Newspaper - which has been in operation since 1978 - distributes about 60 recordings of the Lurgan Mail and Portadown Times for people to listen to every week.

Hazel told BBC News NI she had "never come across" a talking newspaper until she started volunteering more than 30 years ago.

Although she found it daunting at first, and used to hear her "voice shake" during recordings, she has become more confident over the years.

Talking Newspaper Secretary Patricia McGuinness said they have the capacity to do more, and feels there are others who could be benefitting from the service.

"At the last census there was 2,062 people in this council area who, are over 65, [and] indicated they were blind or visually impaired," she said.

A woman, with short brown hair, is wearing a blue jumper and glasses while sitting on a chair reading an article from a newspaper
Patricia McGuinness has volunteered with three different talking newspapers over the years

Each weekly recording lasts an hour and follows a particular running order.

"Just the same as when you open a newspaper you have the headlines and sport at the back", explains Patricia.

The volunteers work on a four-week rota and take time to cut and sort out all the stories from two copies of each paper while being careful not to duplicate anything.

The recordings are sent out to people in the area on a memory stick which they need to return before receiving subsequent editions.

A man wearing a dark jacket, headphones over his ears is sitting at a desk with a computer and mixing desk in front of him
William Davidson helps out with the technical side of things

The team behind the Craigavon Area Talking Newspaper is made up entirely of volunteers and William Davidson is one of its longest serving members.

"Margaret, my wife, lost her sight around 40 years ago and it was after that I started taking part in the talking newspaper."

She always listens to the entire recording and sometimes listens twice if there's "a particular story I want to tell my husband about".

A woman with glasses is sitting on a sofa and turning the knob of a radio. She is wearing a navy blazer and a pink colourful top underneath.
Margaret Davidson listens to the talking newspaper in the Craigavon area every week

Margaret, who has no vision in her left eye and just "a little peripheral vision" in her right eye, receives the memory stick every Saturday, which she said keeps her "up to date with all the local news".

She always listens to the entire recording - sometimes twice if there's "a particular story I want to tell my husband about".

Four people, two men and two women, sit around desks with newspapers and baskets of newspaper cuttings in front of them. Three of them have microphones in front of them also. A woman sits in the background listening in.
The teams meet every week to record the main stories from the two weekly newspapers

And while the main focus of the service is to provide local news, the team feels it's about so much more.

"It's the fact they've got a reason to get up," said Patricia.

"It's company and they get used to our voices."

There are currently 10 Talking Newspapers across Northern Ireland with at least one in each county.