Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503030060
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BEN MARTIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WVTF provides an invaluable, free service to the print-impaired through its Radio Reading Service: current information by closed-circuit broadcast on our subcarrier frequency. For roughly 1,500 to 1,800 listeners in our coverage area, this very newspaper is read daily by a cadre of dedicated volunteers from all walks of life. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reader's Digest and every local newspaper in our coverage area, such as the Lynchburg News & Advance, are only a few we offer.
Our reading service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To listen to this ``second station,'' a special radio equipped to pick up the signal is needed, and we provide this device, on loan, to anyone who cannot read due to a sight or physical condition. These radios cost about $68 each, and thanks to the generous support of Voice of the Blue Ridge, a nonprofit United Way agency, we're able to meet the needs of this special audience.
Who makes up the Radio Reading Service audience? Needless to say, you don't have to belong to an ``elite'' group to suffer from vision problems and other physical ailments. These listeners are a genuine cross section of our population.
I regret not saving every letter that I've received over the years from families and friends of the print-impaired whom we have helped to be more self-sufficient. Printing them here would convince even the most skeptical critic that public radio serves a broad segment of the population. Occasionally, I've even received handwritten thank-you notes from listeners with some degree of sight remaining. Only the deadest of souls wouldn't appreciate such gallant efforts to express gratitude.
As the station's volunteer coordinator for WVTF fund drives and its Radio Reading Service, I maintain a data base of names of about 300 individuals who give their time to support a cause that's important to them. These volunteers also listen to public radio. After a long, sober consideration of this large group, I cannot agree with Small that our listeners are all elite. This army of helpers has its share of professionals, of course, but it's comprised mainly of the hard-working middle class of which I'm a proud member.
How much does it cost the taxpayer for public radio? It costs 9 cents per person in state funding and 29 cents per taxpayer in federal tax revenue. Certainly, this isn't too much to charge for good music, interesting programs and news that's available to anyone with an FM radio.
Our market share is larger than Small thinks it is. In the fall 1994 Arbitron survey, WVTF ranked fourth among 24 stations in the 35-plus metro-market share. This same survey rated this station sixth in total listeners in the 12-plus age group, with 80,500 listeners in the total survey area.
In addition to our Radio Reading Service, we serve the community in other ways. If Small listens frequently, he'll know that we provide, at no charge, information to the listening area through daily public-service announcements. Each Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., we air a one-hour panel discussion on issues affecting our area with direct input from the audience. The adjective ``public'' exists for a good reason.
A heart-felt thank you goes to Small for listening to public radio and recommending some of its programs to others. Before he completes his evaluation of WVTF, I hope he reads this letter. Better yet, he should pay us a visit. Perhaps he'll decide to volunteer for the Radio Reading Service. He might just realize that we appreciatively give back to the community what the community has given to us through the highest-quality music, news and informational programming, and our service to the print-impaired community.
Ben Martin is director of the Virginia Tech Radio Reading Service.
by CNB