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the news and information service for those in the UK who live with sight loss
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 Most of this web site is for vision-impaired members of the public to access but this section is specifically for talking newspapers and magazines, community, hospital and Internet radio stations and, in fact, any
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Feedback. We really do appreciate getting feedback from you about what you think of the service and, importantly, what you're using, what you're not using (and why) and what could be done to improve things for you and, above all, for your listeners.
Should it help, you can download a short feedback form (in WORD) and email it back to us or, if you prefer, just drop us an email and have your say.
guide to listening to audio on this site
Infosound's editorial code of practice
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information provider that benefits blind or partially-sighted people in the UK.
We hope that the news and information that we produce, in the easily accessible format of audio, will be of interest to those in the UK who live with sight loss, their families, friends and carers.
Editorially, it is currently our intent to cover all four parts of the United Kingdom, where our services are aimed. Where there are differences in law, financing or service delivery we will always try to reflect this.
If you are involved with producing information for vision-impaired people, you are very
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welcome to download and use much of the audio material that we produce, subject to the guidelines mentioned later on this page. Its use is all free of charge. Elsewhere on this site, you can get tips about listening to audio. The best way to keep up-to-date with what we can offer you is to visit this web site on a weekly basis.
What We Offer.
We produce three regular audio services for vision-impaired people :
- Infosound Select.
A selection of short individual audio items, each lasting between 2 and 5 minutes.
Each item is self-contained. Updated just as soon as fresh material has been produced.
Infosound Select audio features may be downloaded and reproduced individually.
- Infosound Briefing.
A more in-depth audio feature, focussing on one specific topic, lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.
Produced weekly and uploaded onto our web site between 9 am and 12 noon on a Monday.
The Infosound Briefing may be downloaded and reproduced in its entirety.
- Infosound Despatch.
A magazine compilation of news and information, lasting between 50 and 70 minutes.
Produced monthly on CD and posted out in the first full week of a month. Also placed on our web site.
Neither the complete Infosound Despatch nor its contents may be copied or reproduced - sorry!
The Infosound Library (formerly the 'archive') section of this web site is for reference only and
no material from the Library may be copied or reproduced - sorry!
Jingles. For radio station and talking newspaper/magazine producers who want to run individual audio features as stand-alone items, we have produced two generic jingles to 'sandwich' each item so it requires no introduction or closing announcement:
Broadcast Links. We offer two 'permalink' files for radio stations and information services that want to re-broadcast the weekly Infosound Briefing automatically, without changing the file name each time. Once downloaded, the mp3 audio file can then be scheduled into an automated play-out system, for example, and the m3u playlist file will play almost immediately for 'live' access at any time. These Infosound Briefing 'permalink' files can be found at:
Customised audio trails. We can produce a customised audio trailer for anyone wanting to forward promote when listeners can hear the Infosound Briefing or perhaps a programme or audio magazine featuring individual Infosound Select items. Just email us your script, telling us the exact duration you want, whether or not you want it read over music (the Infosound 'theme') and anything else we should know, and we'll do the rest.
[play example].
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Guidelines for Use.
Our starting position is to always say 'yes' to our audio material being used by any non-commercial organisation that wants to inform blind and partially-sighted people living in the UK on a not-for-profit basis. But, for purely practical and editorial reasons, we do need to define some guidelines for use.
The following audio material may not be reproduced:
The current weekly Infosound Briefing and any of the individual items that appear in Infosound Select may be reproduced, as long as:
- they are only used by those providing free information services to vision-impaired people in the UK - nothing we produce may be used for any commercial or promotional purposes.
- when reproducing the Infosound Briefing, it plays continuously without stopping or pausing from beginning to end and without needing any listener operation to do so.
- no audio material is altered in any way from the form in which it is offered (the Infosound theme music is copyright-free but, as already mentioned, it may only be reproduced in situ).
- listeners only hear the current edition of the Infosound Briefing or any individual feature on, or before, its 'relevant until' date. All material in the 'Infosound Archive' should be considered out-of-date.
Thank you for respecting these guidelines. As appropriate, we will mention any partnership-working that has enabled any of our audio material to be produced and there is no need to add any acknowledgement to Infosound or to credit any Infosound presenter (after all, we don't!). We believe that it's not the messenger that matters, but the message.
You may also wish to read our editorial code of practice.
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Mike Brunning, Soundwaves in Sunderland:
"Just to say that the present Infosound is probably the best yet! Here at Soundwaves I can add the briefing every week as an extra track for our CD listeners and then an extended article on our monthly Soundwaves magazine. The length of the articles are spot on and fit in nicely with our present format. The weekly Briefings are much appreciated by our clients who like the brevity of the articles.
So keep up the good work and I look forward to what you come up with next!!"
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Ray Gormley, Sandwell Talking News:
"Weekly updates will be very welcome, especially as we have the prospect of the Sandwell TN being distributed on USB sticks, and this would be one way of providing more information to our listeners with the greater time at our disposal."
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Bronwen Hall, Co-ordinator, the Black Country Talking Newspaper (part of the Thomas Pocklington Trust):
"Congratulations on the weekly briefings which are most informative and very professionally produced. We had to change a few things on our weekly News CD in order to make room for your Briefing but it has been well worth it. Many of our listeners are contacting us to follow up items mentioned on the Briefings. In brief, the Briefings really are making a difference to our listeners' lives."
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Promoting Infosound.
We would be extremely grateful if you could promote our free services to your listeners in your programme or audio publication. Although everything we produce is aimed directly at someone who lives with sight loss, we believe it is also of interest to friends, family members and carers of blind and partially-sighted people. So we're grateful if you would like to spread the word about Infosound. Should it help, we have put together suggested scripts for reading out and some audio trailers:
General Promotion.
SCRIPT: If you find it difficult to get up-to-date and relevant information about living with sight loss, then the UK-wide charity Infosound may well be able to help.
They produce features on a wide variety of topics on subjects that could be of particular interest to someone who has a vision-impairment. Those topics include useful products, leisure, holidays, travel, money, consumer issues, mobility and support services.
Infosound produces all its news and information in audio and it's available in a variety of different ways - as individual audio items to listen to on demand on their web site, via their regularly-updated podcast or on Internet Radio, as a longer weekly audio feature on one specific topic of interest and as a monthly audio magazine compilation on standard audio CD.
To find out more about the free Infosound services for anyone in the UK who lives with sight loss (whether registered or not), you can phone them on 084 55 55 55 28, email info@infosound.org.uk or visit their web site at www.infosound.org.uk.
AUDIO: ¦ download the Infosound all-services promotional audio trailer ¦ Duration: 1.41 ¦
Infosound Despatch Promotion.
SCRIPT: The free Infosound Despatch audio magazine offers a mix of news and information on all aspects of living with sight loss. The monthly selection of audio articles, which usually lasts for about an hour, aims to cover a wide variety of different topics such as useful daily-living products, leisure, hobbies, holidays, mobility, housing, employment, training, money, consumer issues and support services - in fact, just about anything that affects blind and partially-sighted people living in the UK.
It's totally free and delivered on standard audio CD to listeners' homes every month - and it does not have to be returned.
So, if you would like to receive your own CD copy of the free monthly Infosound Despatch, just phone Infosound on 084 55 55 55 28 and leave your name, address and telephone number. Alternatively, you can email audio@infosound.org.uk or write to Infosound, PO Box 20, Brighton BN2 7XX.
AUDIO: ¦ download the Infosound Despatch promotional audio trailer ¦ Duration: 1.34 ¦
Promoting Infosound Online.
If you are kind enough to promote or feature us on your web site, you are welcome to download our logo to place next to a link to our site [www.infosound.org.uk]. We would also suggest the following brief description of our services could please accompany the logo and link:
"Offering free services for those in the UK who live with sight loss, the charity Infosound produces news and information that aims to be of interest to blind and partially-sighted people, their families, friends and carers. Infosound audio material is produced as a monthly 'Despatch' audio magazine compilation on CD, an in-depth weekly online 'Briefing' audio feature and a web-based 'Select' service of individual items, which are also podcast and available on mobile phones and Internet Radio."
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