About us
The Lichfield & District Talking Newspaper began production in November 1981 with important backing
from Lichfield Lions Club and also both the Rotary and Round Table groups that operate in Lichfield and from local Councillors,
such as Stan Smith, who was Mayor at the time. The Lions Club has maintained close ties with the Talking Newspaper over the
ensuing years and has regularly provided essential funds.
Other
organisations that have been important to the TN include the Soroptimists and the Lichfield Inner Wheel.
In recent years it has been the Trusts that operate in the city that have been vital to our survival
and expansion, in particular the Mary Slater Trust, Michael Lowe Charity, Conduit Lands Trust, Municipal Trust and Swinfen
Broun charity.
It has cost around £60,000 to keep the
Talking Newspaper going since its launch, but although that implies an average annual cost of £2,000, it actually came
in three major peaks of £12,000 in 1981, £14,500 in 1992 and £16,000 in 2009. Now that all of the new equipment
has been installed, we estimate that the running costs for the new technology will be around £4,000 pa for the next
three or four years, and will then ease to around £2,000 pa.
The
move to digital technology has had an immediate and profound effect. Listeners are overjoyed, to say the least, and the new
service has become the talk of the Blind Clubs that meet throughout the region. We are therefore expecting an explosion in
demand over the next year or so. We feel that we must plan for at least 300 new listeners over the next 18 months, at a cost
of £35 per listener.
It is important to stress that no
blind person is expected to pay a single penny towards this service. We would rather people that can afford to pay be given
it for free than to drive away those that cannot afford to subscribe.
