It Happens Here: Worcester radio station a reading service for visually impaired, disabled
WORCESTER - Worcester, the second largest city in Massachusetts, is home to a radio station helping visually impaired and disabled listeners get local news every day.
It's called Audio Journal, an FM station that describes itself as a "radio reading service for individuals who are blind, low vision, or cannot access print material due to a disability."
"There's six stations in our state we're just one of them," said executive director Harry Duchesne.
The locations in Marshfield, Lowell, Worcester, Pittsfield, Springfield and on the Cape make up the Massachusetts Audio Information Network. The bandwidth of all six covers listeners in the entire state.
Duchesne took over in 2021. He suffered a stroke six years ago and lost 40-percent of his vision.
"If you're feeling alone. If you're feeling left out and you can't read or because of an illness like Parkinson's you can't hold something to read, we're here for you," he told WBZ.
Audio Journal now has 150 volunteer readers and none more recognizable than Bill Reggerio.
"When I come on the air, I love to listen to my voice," he told WBZ.
He sat in the audio booth for the first time last year. Being nearly 100-percent blind, he found it difficult to use the audio board and locate the microphones. So instead of going off air, he created his own workflow. By using voice commands on his phone, Reggerio records public service announcements, local news stories, and weather forecasts for the station's listeners.
"If you're visually impaired, even if you're completely blind (and) you want to learn how to do broadcasting, you can do it," said Duchesne. "People like Bill and our readers are like that light in the darkness. Literally."
For more information about Audio Journal, visit their website.