MEDIA ADVISORY - Accessible Media Inc. receives prestigious FCC Chairman's Award for Advancement in Accessibility
TORONTO, Dec. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) announced today that it has been declared the winner of the Annual Chairman's Award for Advancement in Accessibility in the Video Programming Device Solutions category, as presented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States.
The Chairman's Award for Advancement in Accessibility is a FCC project coordinated by the Commission's Accessibility and Innovation Initiative that recognizes outstanding, innovative products, services, technologies or practices introduced to the public between July 31, 2011 and July 31, 2012 that were specifically designed to advance accessibility for people with disabilities.
AMI submitted The Described Video TV Guide (DV Guide) for consideration and received first place honours. The DV Guide was developed in conjunction with AMI's Canadian Broadcast partners and the Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC) Described Video Working Group to help raise awareness of described video programming available to Canadians who are blind or with low vision. The Guide is a comprehensive list of all described programming from across Canada that is maintained on a daily basis by AMI. The Guide officially launched on June 1st, 2012 and is available on the AMI web site (http://www.ami.ca/dvguide) and through a 24-hour bilingual national call centre at no cost to consumers.
"This is a tremendous honour for AMI, our Canadian broadcast partners and the CRTC," explained AMI President and CEO, David Errington. "AMI is committed to advocating for the needs of our audience and to be world-leaders in the area of accessibility. It's rewarding to see our collaborative efforts pay off with this well-deserved accolade."
AMI surpassed forty-five other entries and was one of a small contingent of non-American submissions to be considered for the award. While the nomination was Canadian in origin, the FCC felt that it should be considered for the awards as the Described Video Guide is the first-ever example of a daily, comprehensive list of described programming.
AMI President and CEO, David Errington and Director, Accessible Digital Media, Robert Pearson will accept the award at a formal presentation at the FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, December 19th.
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About Accessible Media Inc.
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) is a not-for-profit multimedia organization operating two broadcast services, AMI-TV, AMI-audio, and a web site, AMI.ca. AMI serves more than five million Canadians who are blind or with low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, learning disabled, mobility or print restricted, or learning English as a second language by making print, broadcast and online media accessible.
SOURCE: NEWS - MEDIA
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