[bksvol-discuss] Re: Baechler Productions Makes Vintage Radio BooksAvailable to the Blind

Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx> · Fri, 2 Dec 2005 21:41:16 -0800 (PST)

Wonderful!!!  

Is this our Tony, i.e., the one who posts here?

Thank you Tony!! (if you're not the same Tony, ah,
well...hopefully people will go to the site and thank
him).

Thanks for posting this, Shelley.

Cindy

--- juddysbuddy@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> 
> 
> For Immediate Release
> 
> Contact:
> Baechler Productions
> PO Box 19727
> San Diego, CA 92159
> http://goldenradio.net/
> Email: press@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> 
> BAECHLER PRODUCTIONS MAKES VINTAGE RADIO BOOKS
> AVAILABLE TO THE BLIND
> 
> (SAN DIEGO, CA - November 29, 2005) - Baechler
> Productions, a leader in the
> transfer and restoration of high quality Vintage
> Radio shows available on
> DVD and audio CD announced today that in association
> with Bookshare.org, a
> leading provider of digitally accessible books for
> the disabled, funding
> has been donated for the purchase and scanning of
> nearly two dozen books
> related to Vintage Radio.  If you are a member of
> Bookshare.org, you can
> already download several titles which have been
> processed, with more titles
> going online over the next several weeks.  We
> regrettably are unable to
> make these books available to non-members.  All
> titles can only be
> downloaded through the Bookshare.org web site.
> 
> "We are happy to provide this service to the blind,"
> Tony Baechler,
> Director of Baechler Productions, recently said. 
> Tony himself is blind and
> understands firsthand how difficult it can be to
> find reference materials
> about Vintage Radio.  Although he has been
> collecting Vintage Radio
> programs for many years, it was not until 2003 that
> a well-known reference
> book was made available on several cassettes.  He
> further states, "There
> were a couple books available on tape but they were
> difficult to use and
> required lots of time to find what you were looking
> for.  I couldn't just
> turn to the page I wanted as other sighted
> collectors could."
> 
> Vintage Radio was described as, "theater of the
> mind," by the CBS Radio
> Network.  It is ideally suited as entertainment for
> the blind since the
> pictures are drawn from your imagination.  During
> the golden era of Vintage
> Radio, there were many types of programs including
> dramas, comedies, and
> news.  It was not until the late 1990's that
> researchers began writing very
> comprehensive, detailed reference books.  There had
> been encyclopedic works
> written before then but with many inaccuracies.
> 
> It has now become very easy to collect these
> programs.  For the sighted
> public, it is also simple to purchase and read the
> reference
> books.  However, this is impossible for the blind or
> others who are unable
> to read print.  That is why Baechler Productions was
> honored to donate the
> funds to purchase twenty-two books for scanning and
> uploading to
> Bookshare.org.  There is a large range of titles
> included, from books of a
> nostalgic nature to very large encyclopedias.  There
> are detailed looks at
> both well-known radio stars such as Jack Benny and
> Bing Crosby to thorough
> examinations of lesser known and nearly forgotten
> stars such as Paul
> Frees.  In addition, there are several
> well-respected authors from the
> Vintage Radio community represented including Martin
> Grams, Jr. and Jim
> Harmon.  Other featured celebrities include George
> Burns and Bob
> Hope.  There are books which focus only on specific
> shows as well, such as
> "Have Gun, Will Travel" and "Suspense."
> 
> Tony further observes, "It used to really bother me.
>  I would have a great
> longing to read some of the new books just coming
> out.  Everyone on the
> email lists would rave about the latest work by a
> respected author but I
> had no way to read it.  If I was lucky, the author
> might post an excerpt
> online but that was it."
> 
> "Jack Benny was active through sixty years and four
> eras of American
> entertainment," notes Laura Leff, President of the
> International Jack Benny
> Fan Club located online at http://jackbenny.org. 
> Because of the
> timelessness and value of his humor, we have chosen
> many biographies about
> him, including one by his daughter, Joan and several
> by his writers.  He
> was well-respected by his many friends, including
> George Burns, Bob Hope,
> Lucille Ball and many others.  It is now possible
> for the blind to get to
> know the real person of Jack Benny, not just his
> radio and television
> persona.  Because of his enduring popularity, a
> petition has been started
> to have his picture on the new thirty-nine cent
> postage stamp expected to
> be released in January, 2006.  The blind, thanks to
> the books now
> available, are not limited to only hearing his radio
> legacy.
> 
> In 2002, an effort was made to bring back some of
> the famous Vintage Radio
> programs from the past in printed form.  This was so
> successful and
> well-received that a second volume was published two
> years later.  However,
> even though the medium of radio itself is great
> entertainment for the
> blind, the publisher would not make electronic
> copies available.  We hope
> that publishers will consider giving error-free
> files to Bookshare.org in
> the future.  Finally, the wait is over for those
> people who happen to be
> blind and like this type of entertainment since both
> volumes will shortly
> be available online.
> 
> "One great thing about Bookshare.org is the security
> measures they put in
> place.  I have no worries at all about books being
> stolen and showing up
> online.  I just wish other authors and publishers
> would see the advantage
> in providing perfect, electronic copies rather than
> leaving the blind out
> or expecting volunteers to scan them."
> 
> Baechler Productions would like to extend a special
> thanks to Carrie Karnos
> who gave many hours of her time to make this project
> possible.  She
> prepared the books, scanned them, and fixed many
> errors caused by the text
> recognition process.  Although Baechler Productions
> was able to provide the
> funding, we did not have the resources to physically
> scan and proofread the
> books.  This project would not have happened without
> her dedication.
> 
> For more information about the books being offered,
> contact:
> Anthony Baechler, press@xxxxxxxxxxxx,
> http://goldenradio.net/books.html
> 
> 
> About Baechler Productions
> 
> Baechler Productions was established in 2003 to seek
> out, transfer,
> preserve and restore programs from radio's past,
> also known as Vintage
> Radio.  They are interested in acquiring high
> quality, low generation
> programs on open reel and audio CD.  Even though the
> mp3 format is now very
> popular, Baechler Productions never uses it for
> archival purposes because
> of how much of the original high frequencies are
> lost in the compression
> process.  In 2004, Baechler Productions purchased
> the goldenaudio.net site
> for freely available, noncommercial online audio. 
> In November 2005,
> goldenradio.net was launched, allowing the public to
> have access to the
> increasingly large library of restored, high quality
> programs processed by
> Baechler Productions.  Although the site is
> currently in its preliminary
> form, the catalog will be growing and
> goldenradio.net expects to be
> accepting orders in early 2006.  Some Vintage Radio
> shows can be
> pre-ordered via email, visit http://goldenradio.net/
> for more information.
> 
> # # #
> 
> 
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