Keeping in touch with current events through newspapers seems impossible for the 50,000 people in San Diego County who are legally blind, vision-impaired or have a similar disability.
However, a new service called Newsline enables the print-disabled to still have access to the papers.
For San Diegans, the service currently includes the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Developed by the National Federation for the Blind, the service consists of a local phone bank with computer speech synthesizers.
The system is operated through a touch-tone keypad that allows the listener to select a newspaper and choose among articles. The listener can skip stories backward and forward, and can have names or words spelled out by request.
To apply to the system or for information, call (760) 747-3466 or (858) 297-2487.
