East Grinstead Local News
Spotlight on Greenstede Talking News
In the latest look at the groups and organisations, which hire Town Council property, the spotlight falls on the Greenstede Talking News. THE Greenstede Talking News was founded in the early 80s to give local people with temporary or permanent visual handicaps the opportunity to access news about the town community. Every Thursday evening a five-strong team of editors pores over the East Grinstead Observer and Courier newspapers to put together a digest of the week’s most significant happenings. On Friday evenings, a second four-strong team assembles in the former Witnesses Room at the Old Court House to record the week’s new stories on to tapes, or, increasingly, on to CDs, each member reading a story in turn to give interest and variety to the presentation. And on Saturday mornings the copying and distribution team swing into action to make sure the recordings reach the 70 or so visually handicapped listeners who look forward to catching up with the news headlines each week. With a five-week rota, the operation involves 70 volunteers and at the moment chairman Ken Jordan is keen to hear from anyone who would be prepared to train as a recording engineer. He is always on the look out too for readers to go on his waiting list. "We are not looking for ’BBC’ voices, and accents are unimportant, we just need people who can read clearly and fluently," he said. Recently the team added recorded interviews to their tapes, which have included a talk with Town Clerk Chris Rolley, a recording of the Remembrance Day service and an item on the Bluebell Railway. And the ’customer’ feedback is usually always pleasant and positive, says Ken, although the decision to include the full two minutes silence on the Talking News presentation backfired when several listeners turned off thinking the tape had come to an abrupt end, he laughed. * Anyone who would like to receive a taped copy of the town’s news, or who would like to volunteer to help produce it, can contact Ken on 01342 325823.
source http://www.eastgrinstead.gov.uk/