Dial-in Newspaper & Magazine Service
How does dial-in actually work?
Keypad functions
Dial-in Categories (opens a separate page)
This service enables visually and physically disabled individuals to “read” (hear) the morning paper, yesterday’s paper and selected other publications – any time of day or night, seven days a week. Using their own touch-tone telephones, they can access all of the available publications, whenever they choose to do so. Audio dial-in instructions.
Each day, starting early in the morning, volunteers read the Washington Post into a computer: news and editorial pages, sports, the larger ads, special sections and the weekly supplements including TV listings. Pictures, charts, graphs and cartoons are fully described.
Other publications include:
- Time
- Washingtonian
- People magazine
- ACB Reports
- Disability News Scan
- Heloise A-Z
- Practical Tips For Everyday Living
- Wall Street Journal
- New York Times
- African American Magazines and Newspapers
- Public Service Announcements
- Audio Described TV, Theaters and Movies
How does dial-in actually work?
With their touch-tone telephones, callers can:
- Choose dozens of categories.
- Go from article to article.
- Skip and scan.
- Jump forward and backward.
- Browse much as sighted people do.
- Control the speed of volunteer readers’ recorded voices.
- Control the volume of the recorded voices.
Callers can use convenient speakerphones and call waiting. Individual ID numbers allow access only to eligible callers. There is free telephone access throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia. The toll-free line is provided by the State of Maryland in Maryland and in other jurisdictions with the generous support of WETA.
Keypad functions
THE FOLLOWING TELEPHONE KEYS PERFORM THE FOLLOWING FUNCTIONS:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIAL-IN
1 – Return to the beginning of an article. Press 1 twice to return to the beginning of the previous article
2 – Move to next article
3 – Move backward 10 seconds
4 – Move forward 10 seconds
5 – Help
6 – Move to last article in category
7 – Changes speed to 10%, 30%, 50% faster; 30% slower; & norm
8 – Volume Boost / Normal 9 – Pause
0 – Exit category to subcategory or main publication menu
# – Hang up (exit system)
* – Change publications
How Dial-in actually works, etc.