2RPH
Encyclopedia
2RPH is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n radio reading service
Radio reading service
A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is most often carried on a subcarrier, with...

 that reads newspapers and magazines for the benefit of those who have difficulties reading for themselves. It is the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 station of the RPH Network
Radio Print Handicapped Network
RPH Australia is the national peak representative organisaion for a unique Australian network of radio reading service designed to meet the daily information needs of people who, for any reason, are unable to access normal printed material...

.

2RPH is also available free to air (no smartcard required) on the Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television platform in Australia, aimed at providing television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 and B3 satellites...

 radio platform on the Optus C1 Satellite.

History

The need for a radio reading service was realised in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 in 1983 with the establishment of 2RPH as a Community Benefit Organisation, incorporated as a Co-operative Society. The station began operating on 18 April 1983.

The first broadcast frequency was off the main broadcast band (1629 kHz), and was thus unsuitable, as many people could not receive the station. The problem was partly resolved by a move to a more suitable band location (1539 kHz, in 1991), and further in 1993 when the Commonwealth Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...

 provided the station with transmission facilities previously used by commercial station 2WS. These facilities are still in use and provide a strong signal to most parts of Greater Sydney and some suburbs outside the metropolitan area.

Audience

Originally designed for the vision-impaired, elderly, and infirm, currently many English language teachers
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...

 instruct their students to tune in and follow the printed word on air.

Programming

Volunteers prepare, produce, and present all the programs, including readings from magazines and other publications, which are pre-recorded. Many of these recorded programs are re-broadcast by RPH stations in other parts of Australia and the Radio Reading Service
Radio reading service
A radio reading service or reading service for the blind is a service of many universities, community groups and public radio stations, where a narrator reads books, newspapers and magazines aloud for the benefit of the blind and vision-impaired. It is most often carried on a subcarrier, with...

 in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. 2RPH is the largest supplier of programs to the national network feed.

Applicants for on-air work must pass an audition carefully designed to demonstrate their skills at reading aloud. Volunteer positions are often available for behind-the-scenes duties.

See also

  • List of Australian radio stations
  • Radio Print Handicapped Network
    Radio Print Handicapped Network
    RPH Australia is the national peak representative organisaion for a unique Australian network of radio reading service designed to meet the daily information needs of people who, for any reason, are unable to access normal printed material...

  • Community Radio Network (Australia)
    Community Radio Network (Australia)
    The Community Radio Network in Australia is a satellite program feed available to subscribing community radio stations. It was created and is managed by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia . The CRN does not produce the programs that are broadcast on the feed, but acts as a...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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