Here is a brief sample of the Metropolitan Washington Ear's telephone dial-in newspaper and magazine service.
If you live beyond Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, there are other human voice telephone services across the country. For a list of telephone reading services, click here Telephone Reader Sites
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 only their own touch-tone telephones, they can access all of the available publications, whenever they choose to do so.
Each day, starting early in the morning, volunteers read the Washington Post and USA Today into a computer: news and editorial pages, sports, the larger ads, special sections and the weekly supplements including TV Logs. 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
And selections from the Wall Street
Journal
With their touch-tone telephones, callers can:
With their touch-tone telephones, callers can choose dozens of categories, go from article to article, skip and scan, jump forward and backward, and browse much as sighted people do. They control the speed and volume of volunteer readers' recorded voices. Many 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.
Click here for Keypad functions
25 - WEEKEND (FRIDAY):
17 - PUBLISHER'S LETTER
10 - Cover Description
11 - Cover Story
12 - Table of Contents
13 - Up Front
14 - Style
(10) - Style Watch
(11) - Scoop
(12) - On Line
15 - Star Tracks
16 - Mail
17 - Picks & Pans
(10) - Tube
(11) - Screen
(12) - Song
(13) - Pages
18 - Insider
19 - Passages
20 - Chatter
21 - General Articles
USA TODAY
DESCRIBED THEATER, TV, VIDEO AND MUSEUMS
10 - Newsline /Index
11 - Front Page
12 - Front Section
(10) National News
(11) World News
(12) Washington & Politics
13 - Editorials, Opinions, Letters
14 - Columnists & TV
(10) Columnists
(11) TV Section
15 - Across The Nation
(10) States A - H
(11) States I - P
(12) States R - W
16 - Life
18 - Sports
19 - Money
20 - Travel Weather
(10) Cities A - H
(11) Cities I - P
(12) Cities Q - Z
21 - Weather
(10) Weather Focus
(11) Weather Events
(12) Four Day Forecast
25 - Weekend
(10) Front Page
(11) Movie Section
(12) Home Movies
(13) Music
(14) Stage
(15) Tech Toys
(16) Books
26 - Destinations & Diversions
10 - Described Movies, Live Theatre & Opera Performances
11 - Described Broadcast Network TV
(10) - Monday
(13) - Thursday
12 - Described Museum Exhibits
13 - Described Video, Tape and Library Information
14 - Described Video Equipment and Information
10(A), 11(B), 12(C),13(D),14(E),15(F),16(G),17(H),18(I),19(J),
20(K),21(L),22(M),23(N),24(O),25(P),26(Q),27(R),28(S),29(T)
30(U),31(V),32(W),33(X),34(Y),35(Z),36 (Spots & Stains), 37 (Odors)