What is WKAR Radio Reading Service?
WKAR Radio Reading Service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week serving persons who have difficulty reading conventional printed material.  Thousands of people in mid-Michigan cannot see well enough to read this.  Though most Radio Reading Service consumers are blind, many have other conditions that make reading difficult, including dyslexia, or difficulty picking up a book or newspaper.  

WKAR Radio Reading Service provides these people access to news and information they can use to live better independently.

Who Listens?
WKAR Radio Reading Service serves more than 1,000 individuals in their homes and is also available in more than 300 care facilities throughout mid-Michigan.  More than half of the Radio Reading Service  audience is over 65 years of age, and 80% of these individuals live independently.  

What RRS Listeners Hear
WKAR Radio Reading Service features material from a selection of Michigan and national newspapers that includes international & national news, state & metro news, business news, editorials & features, sports & Sunday comics, and updated weather forecasts with severe weather alerts.

WKAR Radio Reading Service also features grocery & department store advertisements, community calendar information, and prime-time television listings & movie reviews. In addition, the service features information of particular interest to persons who are aging or who have handicapping conditions (Prime Time).  

The Services are Free
WKAR Radio Reading Service services are free!  The special radio receiver needed to listen to Radio Reading Service programs, which are broadcast on a sub-channel carrier band of 90.5 FM WKAR, is loaned free of charge to individuals who qualify for the service.

From 90.5 FM WKAR
WKAR Radio Reading Service is located within the FM 90 broadcast studios.  90.5 FM WKAR is a 24-hour non-commercial public radio station, which airs a variety of classical, jazz, and folk music programs, licensed to Michigan State University.  The 90.5 FM WKAR and Radio Reading Service broadcast coverage area can be heard within a 70-mile radius from East Lansing.