Vision Australia Radio

Vision Australia Radio - VAR
City of license Melbourne, Victoria
Slogan "Sound Information"
Frequency 1179 KHz[1] (1990-)
1629 kHz (1982-1990)
First air date 12 December 1982[2][3]
Format Radio reading service
Power 3,000 watts[1]
Class Community[1]
Callsign meaning Vision Australia Radio
Affiliations Radio Print Handicapped Network
Owner Vision Australia
Webcast MP3 Stream
Website Official Website

Vision Australia Radio is a network of eight radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales owned by Vision Australia. The stations broadcast a range of programs, generally consisting of readings of newspapers and magazines for people unable to read print media. All the stations are operated by a volunteer staff and a small group of dedicated employees.

The Vision Australia Radio Network is headquartered at Kooyong and is licensed as a Community (RPH) Broadcaster to the print handicapped community. This can include people with vision impairment, a physical illness or disability which makes it difficult for them to hold a paper (such as MS or Parkinson’s), people with dyslexia or those who understand spoken but not written English.

A recent McNair Ingenuity Research study showed that Vision Australia Radio has a state wide audience of more than 250,000 every week – with the majority of listeners aged between 25-54. An estimated 38% of listeners are professionals or self-employed with a further 36% skilled workers.

The station originally broadcast as 3RPH in 1982 from Melbourne, however the station is now formally known as Vision Australia Radio.

Vision Australia Radio is a member of the Radio Print Handicapped Network and a BBC World Service partner station.

Melbourne station - VAR 1179AM

The chief station is:

Regional stations

The other stations are affiliates and opt out of the 3RPH feed for local programmes:

The Melbourne station is also heard in Australia and New Zealand on Optus Aurora satellite radio channel 12.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "New radio services for Melbourne, Geelong and Colac". Australian Communications and Media Authority. 27 June 2000. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  2. "blindness and low vision services". Vision Australia. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  3. Farah Farouque (12 December 2002). "Why Leach is getting serious all over". The Age. Retrieved 2007-12-31.