Audio-Reader featured on Alliance of Rural Public Media blog

Reporters Brigit Benestante and David DeKeyser from the Alliance of Rural Public Media reached out to Audio-Reader staff and volunteers to discover how their service serves Kansans who live in rural settings. KPR/Audio-Reader director Feloniz Lovato-Winston and outreach coordinator Martha Kehr were happy to talk with them about how people in rural areas tune in. 

Feloniz Lovato-Winston, who serves as director of both Kansas Public Radio and Audio-Reader, says the Audio-Reader and public media’s relationship first began because of shared technology and has deepened into something more over the decades. “Both organizations share a very similar mission,” she says. “To make sure that access to information and entertainment, cultural experiences and companionship connection to their community, that that’s accessible to everybody for free.” 

For over 54 years and counting, Audio-Reader has provided closed circuit, SCA radios to listeners across the state. As long as they live within the transmission radius of an NPR station, the radios broadcast the 24/7 service with not setup or internet required. For listeners outside a radio broadcast area, a toll-free phoneline, called the Telephone Reader service, connects listeners to the programming. 

In additional to Audio-Reader staff, the reporters interviewed volunteers Rex Buchanan, former director of the Kansas Geological Survey, and Connie Rodriguez, a retired healthcare worker from the Kansas City area. Buchanan and Rodriguez spoke about their commitment to Audio-Reader listeners, how they were drawn to volunteer, and why small town newspapers are vital in rural areas.

Find the full blog post on https://ruralpublic.org/blog-and-news/audio-reader/