Radio Information Service

RIS Logo

The Radio Information Service or RIS was a reading service for the blind in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was carried via subcarrier on WDUQ in Pittsburgh.

Prior to closing in 2009, the RIS weekly audience was 1,200 listeners with two-thirds of the audience over 60 years of age. Most listeners lived in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland Counties but RIS also served nine other counties in the region, including Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence and Somerset. RIS also serves parts of Ohio and West Virginia.

Listeners accessed RIS through a special FM radio receiver, over the Internet, on Comcast Cable systems or through the RIS Telephone Dial-In Service.

Programming

RIS based its programming on its motto "Independence Through Information". Given that many visual impairments tend to be age-related, RIS's services were specially tailored to their needs. One of the most popular programs was the daily newspapers where a pair of narrators read local and regional newspapers, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Other programming included popular magazines, ads from grocery, drug and department stores, TV listings and other special interest publications. Additionally, RIS provided translations of printed material to Braille or audio recording.

History

At its founding in 1976 RIS was broadcast from the campus of Duquesne University. When operations grew too large for the station, the studio moved to the Southside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

In 2004, facing a lack of funding and a possible shutdown, the board of RIS began exploring possibilities of partnering with another organization. On November 1, 2005, RIS entered into a Management Agreement with WDUQ. This agreement allowed the reading service to remain a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a governing board responsible for all fundraising and community outreach while WDUQ was responsible for the day-to-day RIS business operations, including programming, services, personnel and volunteer management.

However, by 2009, the service was no longer able to sustain operations, and the service went inactive on August 14, 2009.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Crawford, Amy (2009-08-07). "Out of money, reading service for blind ends on Pittsburgh radio". TribLIVE. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
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