Reading Radio

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Brisbane's Reading Radio is one of a national network of community radio stations that has been making waves across Australia, transmitting news, information, and stories to build an inclusive community, particularly for the vision and print impaired.



Imagine not being able to or having difficulty keeping up to date with happenings in the newspaper, flicking through a favourite magazine or book, and missing out on important community information. For many people, including those who are blind or vision impaired, this is their reality when words on the page present a challenge in their everyday lives.

Vision Australia estimates there are currently 453,000 people in Australia who are blind or have low vision. They project that the number of Australians who are blind or have low vision will grow to 564,000 by 2030.

This is where Reading Radio can step in and lend a hand with an accessible series of audio radio programs that bring the words to their listeners.



With a committed audience base, the station particularly focuses on listeners with a print or vision impairment or are time-poor to provide them with access to useful and interesting news, stories, and information that will help them be an active part of the community. Rather than feeling alone or left out, they can feel connected with the people and content through sound.



This includes people with:

The main demographic of the station is listeners between the ages of 18 and 40 years olds.

I visited the station to see it in action and spoke with the Station Manager, Chris Corcoran, and members of the Team to find out more about what they do.


(Chris Corcoran)

What types of Programs can you listen to?
As the media, technological and social landscape changes, such as with the growing rise of podcasts, and vlogs, the station continues to evolve and is embracing new ideas along the way to support the delivery of a quality and useful service for its listeners to meet its mission.

Reading Radio transmits:



One of the unique features of the programming is that content is more comprehensive than most mainstream media where announcers read an entire, whole article or story from a reputable source, not just a summary or quick news grab.

All of the show's programs, which are both pre-recorded and live, are produced by a team of blind producers, including singer-songwriter Steve Sparrow, who is totally blind, all who embody the station's vision of "empowerment through information."


(On-air volunteer, Marina Maragos and Producer Steve Sparrow)

Volunteers supporting the community
The radio is run by a small number of paid staff and a highly committed and enthusiastic group of some 100 trained volunteer readers from various professional backgrounds, skills, and interests who take to the airways in regular shifts.


(Jo Fearn-Wannan)

No previous radio or media experience is required. Some have lived former lives as lawyers, accountants, teachers, performers, train drivers, and many more.

Reading Radio transmits from the Morris Towers Building in Wickham Terrace, Brisbane, which has two recording booths and one production booth. To hear the shows for yourself, tune in to DAB 1296 AM or live stream through their website. The station helps the visually impaired every day by transmitting 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.



For similar stations in other major cities, tune into:

1RPH - ACT
2 RPH - NSW
Vision Australia Radio – Victoria, WA, South Australia, Northern Territory
Print Radio - Tasmania

Reading Radio is a not-for-profit organization, and volunteers are always welcome so if you would like to help with broadcasting or fundraising for the Team and bring light to the darkness, you can contact them here to find out more. Listener demand and satisfaction show that this community resource is a major medium for being "On Air, On Line and On The Pulse" for the visually impaired.

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