The award-winning Talking Information Center (TIC), a non-profit reading service based in Marshfield, MA, which broadcasts 24 hours a day to thousands of visually impaired and otherwise disabled listeners, recently unveiled their new website, www.TICNetwork.com.
TIC’s new mobile responsive website is clean and well organized, featuring simple, intuitive navigation, concise information, and active communication tools. The new website was developed by Bond Printing & Marketing of Hanover, MA, a family-owned and operated commercial printing and marketing company that has been serving clients in Eastern Massachusetts for more than four decades.
One of the most important new components of TICNetwork.com is the Giving page, which outlines all the ways to support TIC and enables visitors to easily make an online donation to the non-profit. A comprehensive Programs page is another key component, as it lists TIC’s hourly schedule for every day of the week and provides access to archived shows. A Volunteer page enables visitors to register to become a volunteer reader, help at an event or join a committee. Site visitors will also be able to stay up-to-date on TIC activities and news through the new online Newsroom.
Three prominent buttons on the Home page provide visitors quick, one-click options: “Listen Now” enables listeners to tune in live; a Zoom feature enables visitors to increase/decrease the font size of the website’s text; and the Give button takes visitors directly to the online donation page.
With the new design, TIC also has all the necessary tools on the back-end to make frequent content updates, ensuring that visitors to the site have access to the most current news, programs and events.
“TIC’s new website is extremely user-friendly, very easy to navigate and better serves our diverse audience of listeners. Bond Printing & Marketing did a tremendous job of developing a robust site that will serve us well for years to come,” said Jim Bunnell, Executive Director at TIC.
Reaching New Audiences
According to the National Federation of the Blind, 136,500 people of all ages in Massachusetts reported to have a visual disability in 2013. Two out of three aging Americans confront vision loss. Others who experience vision problems are living with AIDS, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, paralysis and other physical ailments that make it difficult to hold a publication or turn its pages. Approximately 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the U.S. and in Massachusetts, 34 percent of people with disabilities are 65 and older. Military veterans are seeking programs that have a ‘veteran’s voice’.
Bunnell continued, “TIC has thousands of blind/visually impaired listeners statewide, yet there is a broader audience who can benefit. There are a growing number of seniors and veterans seeking informational, entertaining broadcasts that just aren’t available elsewhere, and that’s where TIC comes in.”
TIC operates with the help of more than 600 volunteers statewide and approximately 200 volunteers in their Marshfield studio alone, broadcasting newspapers, magazines, books, special consumer information, medical and stock market updates, jobs, sports, supermarket specials, voting guides, community newspapers, and television programs. They also offer cultural programming such as old-time radio drama, theater, and poetry. Two of TIC’s newest shows include Veterans Voice Radio and Veterans Voice Story Hour, which are specifically geared toward military veterans and their families.
About TIC
The Talking Information Center (TIC), a non-profit reading service located in Marshfield, MA, broadcasts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to visually-impaired and print-handicapped listeners including those suffering from AIDS, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, paralysis or other physical illness that makes holding a publication or turning pages impossible.
TIC programming may be accessed several ways: via live audio stream at http://www.ticnetwork.org; by utilizing a specially tuned radio receiver; through AudioNow by calling 712-832-7025 from a home or cell phone; or by smartphone app. Listeners with smartphones may download the free TIC app by typing “Talking Information Center” in Apple or in the Google Play store for Android devices.
TIC is a proud member of the International Association of Audible Information Services (IAAIS), and is also the hub of the Massachusetts Reading Network, broadcasting to all of Massachusetts as well as southern New Hampshire and Connecticut.
In 1977, Ed Perry, the founder of radio station WATD-FM in Marshfield, MA, donated his Subsidiary Carrier Authorization signal for use as the first radio reading service in New England. Operating similarly to other broadcast networks, TIC has affiliates throughout the state of Massachusetts that provide inserts of local news and information that is of interest to listeners in their area. TIC is located at 130 Enterprise Drive, Marshfield, MA 02050. For more information visit www.ticnetwork.org or call (781) 834-4400.
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