WSRE airs its last SightLine Reading Service broadcast July 31, 2011. Due to recent state budget cuts, the service is no longer being offered by the public broadcasting station. SightLine served the vision-impaired population of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Baldwin and Okaloosa counties and aired on WSRE’s Second Audio Program channel (SAP), in addition to being archived on the station’s website.
SightLine transmitted its first program on Oct. 25, 1992, as a joint effort of WSRE and the Northwest Florida Radio Reading Service, Inc., an organization founded by Mr. Ben Bazo. Volunteers have read local newspapers, magazines, short stories and interesting articles every day, 365 days a year.
The state funds are no longer available to budget in the cost of SightLine’s broadcast production. Sandy Cesaretti Ray, general manager of WSRE, feels firsthand the effects of the state cuts. “I am acutely aware of the impact the state cuts have on our viewers,” states Ray.
“It is with deepest regret that I must discontinue valuable services to the community. However, it’s necessary to responsibly ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization and put WSRE on a realistic financial path for the future,” she added. WSRE recently enacted staff reductions as well as the removal of some programming from its TV lineup to cut costs. “SightLine’s value lies in the fact that its service provided a tremendous improvement in the quality of life for the vision-impaired. This is an incredible loss for our community,” Ray added.
