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News Features News Archive News Letters
Dear Friends,
We hope that this newsletter will prove interesting and informative to subscribers
and supporters alike. With this in mind we would greatly appreciate your comments
and suggestions regarding the content and format of this issue. Please let
us know if you enjoy this new facility and whether you would like us to produce
something similar on a regular basis. Please contact the switchboard on 01435
866 102.
2005 was a very busy year for National Talking Newspapers and Magazines and now that we have entered 2006 and had time to draw breath, it seems an opportune time to produce a newsletter highlighting some of the many events and achievements of the past year.
In March the structure of TNAUK was fundamentally altered for the first time in over 30 years when the local and national services de-merged. This de-merger led to an overhaul of the Board of Trustees in June and the appointment of a new Chairman.
During the summer TNAUK launched a fundraising appeal, the results of which have been amazing. Many subscribers and supporters sent in vital contributions and messages and letters of support. Our most grateful thanks go to all of those who donated and helped raise money for the charity during 2005.
As our music fans will already have heard, in September TNAUK got a Musical Ambassador in the shape of Matthew Wadsworth, an internationally renowned lute player. The charity’s Roving Ambassador, Nicole Davy has also been busy this year, in between promoting National Talking Newspapers and Magazines, she has been sailing the high seas, competing in races around the country.
Other events of 2005 included the launch of the new DAISY service and a reception at the House of Commons to promote TNAUK.
TNAUK now looks forward to 2006. We hope that it will be a good year for the service and all its subscribers and supporters.
National Service and Local Associations Part Ways after Thirty Years
There had been very little change to the structure of TNAUK since its formation in 1974. In recent years however, the increasing demands on the charity caused a necessity for change. The needs of the local associations were being overshadowed by the ever growing National Talking Newspapers and Magazines and, especially perhaps, its developing electronic service. Meanwhile the efficiency of the national service was being impeded by a structure which put control of the service in the hands of a large number of people who had little idea of how it worked or even, in some cases, why it existed at all.
As a result of this, since April 1st 2005 the role of membership association has been fulfilled by a newly-formed body, Talking News Federation (TNF) which will address issues and deal with matters directly relevant to the local associations. TNAUK now concentrates solely on the task of overseeing and developing National Talking Newspapers and Magazines and its commercial arm Talking Newspapers Enterprises Ltd (TNEL).
The benefits of this crucial restructure are already becoming apparent at national headquarters and we’re confident that the resulting improvement in our efficiency will result in a better overall service.
New Board of Trustees for TNAUK
After the de-merger, it was necessary to appoint a new Board of Trustees for TNAUK and in June Richard Scriven CBE, JP was appointed Chairman of the Board of seven volunteers. The other trustees are Winifred Cameron, John Kerby, Neil McLachlan, Michael Virtue, Jeremy Waddell and Isobel Yule.
Many of you will probably have seen in the press that UK charities have suffered from a severe decline in donation income over the past few years. The situation reached critical point for many small charities this year as donations were diverted to mega-appeals following such major disasters as the Asian Tsunami and the Pakistan earthquake. TNAUK, sadly, has proved no exception to this problem and donations were down by as much as 20 per cent during 2005.
Recognising that the charity was in danger of suffering a financial crisis, TNAUK’s Chief Executive Tim McDonald appealed for help from the service’s 9,000 listeners.
The results of this appeal were outstanding.
Within 24 hours the phones started ringing with messages of support and donations of all sizes came flooding in from across the country. All donations were gratefully received and the appeal amassed over £80,000.
In addition to this, the appeal led to listeners and their friends and families organising fund-raising events to help the charity.
Gillian Wilkes ran the 2005 Hydro Active Women’s Challenge in aid of TNAUK. Gillian, whose mother is a subscriber, completed the five-kilometre race in an impressive 36 minutes and raised over £500.
In Loughborough, Tom Malley, a subscriber, and his wife Caroline raised money by organising and performing in a concert. September Song was a great success and raised well over £1,000.
Adam Dawson whose father has recently become a subscriber, embarked on a sponsored cycle ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats. This massive adventure, which lasted eight days, raised £2,200. We hope that Adam, who completed his ride on 24th October, recovered from any muscle strain before Christmas!
Richard Creed, Captain of Barnham Broom Golf Club for 2005 and a friend of Sonia Locke who is a volunteer reader, nominated TNAUK to be the club’s supported charity for 2005. This led to many fund-raising events in aid of the charity throughout the year and raised £900.
While funding will no doubt continue to be a problem for TNAUK, this amazing show of support has helped us avoid the kind of funding shortfalls that have forced many small and medium sized charities to shut down in recent months. The various heart-felt messages that accompanied donations show that National Talking Newspapers and Magazine is one small charity that cannot be allowed to disappear.
Our thanks go out to everyone for your help and support.
Charity Welcomes New Musical Ambassador
September 2005 saw the introduction of an acclaimed lutenist to National Talking Newspapers and Magazines. Now a subscriber, Matthew Wadsworth, who has been blind since birth, was named by The Independent Magazine as one of 2005’s ‘rising stars’ of classical music. Matthew’s appointment as the charity’s Musical Ambassador was announced in September when he performed to press and representatives of TNAUK, including the CEO, Tim McDonald and Chairman of the board of trustees, Richard Scriven.
Matthew has kindly agreed to donate all the proceeds of his recent concert to TNAUK. The concert, which took place on January 6th at the Wigmore Hall, was a presentation of Elizabethan and Jacobean music with the tenor, James Gilchrist.
It is great to have Matthew on board and we look forward to increasing his involvement with TNAUK during 2006..
Launch of New DAISY Service
One of the most important challenges facing National Talking Newspapers and Magazines is the utilisation of new technology to improve the choice and accessibility of the publications and formats that we offer. To this end, we launched our new DAISY service in July 2005, after a successful trial.
DAISY (which stands for 'Digital Accessible Information System') has many advantages over other formats including more content and enhanced navigation facilities. As DAISY can be accessed through a PC or via a stand-alone or portable player it is also one of the most flexible methods of browsing an audio magazine.
We are offering DAISY in the form of multi-publication CD-ROM compilations. There are currently four compilations available - three weeklies and a monthly, but improvements to our processing systems will enable us to offer a greater variety of publications and compilations - helping the service appeal to an ever expanding range of people.
For more information please visit http://www.tnauk.org.uk/Pages/daisy.html
House of Commons Reception for TNAUK
In October, our local MP, Charles Hendry, hosted a reception for us at the House of Commons. Trustees and staff gathered to greet MPs and talk to them about the national service.
Our guests had the opportunity to witness demonstrations of the types of computer equipment available to partially sighted people as well as a portable DAISY player. TNAUK representatives answered questions about the service which included queries about the de-merger from Talking News Federation and discussions regarding the free post allowance
One of the biggest issues raised concerned the problem of funding for small charities. In particular, as Tim McDonald explained, it is difficult to invest in improvements. In TNAUK’s case, there has been a need to move to digital recording systems and develop new programs to convert printed material. These improvements will massively improve the service in the future but have been extremely difficult to fund. MPs attending the reception were urged to consider how government could help provide for such contingencies and enable charities to keep pace with the developments enjoyed by the commercial sector.
Obituaries
Sadly, in October, Lindy Moffat, a volunteer reader since the national service’s birth in 1983 died. Lindy continued to read for the service until three weeks before her death despite knowing that she was suffering from terminal cancer.
Her absence was noticed by many of the listeners of The Cricketer and The New Statesman who starting ringing in after her retirement.
Lindy was kind enough to ask for donations to the charity instead of flowers at her funeral. She is fondly remembered and sadly missed by all of those who worked with her over the years and, as we have learned, by her many listeners as well.
TNAUK Registered charity number: 293656
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