April 6, 2016
Lending their eyes Around Town
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Musicians perform at Lambert
Business Section
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Donation to youths in need
Submitted photo Charlie Barron and Pat Downen, the morning news readers for MindsEye radio, sit in the MindsEye studio at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows.
MindsEye radio broadcasts feature volunteers reading the printed word for the visually impaired
School
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Students advance to internationals
By Brett Auten The voices come out from tiny speakers covering miles and miles of the St. Louis region. Their timbre brings to their listeners a bounty of news, entertainment and knowledge. MindsEye, the virtual newsstand radio broadcast, is there to serve those who cannot read the printed word. Some listeners are totally blind while others have low vision due to any number of diseases or afflictions. There are listeners who can no longer turn the pages of a newspaper or a magazine because of a stroke or a debilitating disease. There are others who are unable to read because of learning disabilities. There are multitudes that fall under any number of those umbrellas. For them, MindsEye and its dedicated staff are there for them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. MindsEye’s radio broadcasts are based in Belleville, Illinois at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and reach a 75mile radius around the area. The signal spreads as far west as Hermann, as far north as Louisiana, as far east as Centralia, Illinois, and as far south as Murphysboro, Illinois. Although broadcasts are mostly designed for individuals living within this scope, those outside of it hear MindsEye online from anywhere
with Internet access, which is perfect for transplanted residents who want to keep up with the community. “The fun part is talking with our listeners and getting their feedback and input,” Amelia Christ, Community Outreach Coordinator with MindsEye said. “We also provide a listener survey, which helps determine our programming. For instance, there was a lot of interest in cooking and beer and wine making, so we added a program for that. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in more humorous programming, like The Onion (a satirical national news publication).” All print material is up for grabs. In fact, grocery store and department store ads are consistently the top-rated programs at MindsEye. “That is difficult information for our listeners to get,” Christ said. “It really helps our listeners to be more independent.” It all began when WMRY’s Talking Book was born in 1973 through a partnership of local oblates, the Lions Clubs, and other dedicated community organizations and individuals made a way to provide readings of newspapers and magazines to thousands of people who
were blind. At the time, it was the third reading service of its kind in the world. There are 26 different ways to hear MindsEye. One of the more popular ways is through SCA (subsidiary communications authorization) radios, which are free preset radio receivers that are readily available. The process is simple; you See Mindseye on page 2
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