NPR Labs Workshop: Captioned Radio – Ready for Launch! by guest blogger, Megan Clancy

The radio can be tough to understand for many people who have hearing loss.

National Public Radio (NPR) Labs will be covering the Presidential election debates in October and the November 2012 elections, Mike Starling, Executive Director of NRP Labs, said. NPR Labs captioned their first radio program in 2008, after expressing interest in creating captioned radio technology in 2005. 

Their Captioned Radio system will offer emergency alert systems for deaf and deaf-blind citizens through the use of bed shakers to save lives, Starling said.  Emergencies include inclement weather emergencies and missing persons. The mission of the NPR Labs is to serve the underserved. “We want all people to hear the radio, because if we all can’t hear then we are all hearing challenged,” said Maryfran Tyler, Director of Enterprise Strategy and Planning for NPR Distribution.

However, the captioned radio service is still at a “pilot” stage, since NPR is seeking funding to cover their full schedule of shows on the radio. NPR has received funding to develop the technology through grants at this point. Also, NPR Labs provides technology consulting for various radio stations for revenue. They have received two captioning related grants from the National Institute for Disability Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) through the Department of Education, Tyler said.

NPR Labs also circulated paper surveys to HLAA attendees to investigate their desires of which radio show they want captioned first. Also, Tyler said NPR Labs will use social media and the press during summer 2012 to promote viewership during the captioned elections in October and November. Starling then went over findings of the survey—showing that 73 percent of HLAA attendees who responded to the survey wanted emergency alerts to be implemented for their safety, and include captioned radio information about weather, traffic, talk shows, sports and music. “These results will show skeptics that you will use captioned radio shows on our website which will help us with the funding,” Starling said. 

To participate in the survey online, visit www.nprlabs.org/hlaa.