Home

History

The Portsmouth Area Talking News (PATN) was started in 1973 when the Government of the time decided that there was a need for visually impaired people to be able to access local news reported in the papers.

PATN became a Charity enabling it to reach a wider audience beyond the confines of Portsmouth.

How we record

Recordings were made onto audio cassettes and sent out in this format for 30 years.  However cassettes were getting very difficult to obtain and with the progress of technology it was decided in 2008 that we would "go digital" and record onto Memory Sticks (sometimes called Flash Drives).   

We were one of the first in the South of England to make such a change which involved our listeners learning the new technique.   

All we asked was that if they didn't have a computer then they would require a speaker to enable them to listen to their recordings and we researched a reasonably priced model which they could buy from us.  The rest of our service is entirely FREE as it always has been.

How to get on our distribution list

Go to our contact page and follow the instructions.

Volunteers

The Portsmouth Area Talking News volunteers are always happy to hear from our listeners, with suggestions or criticisms on our products. You can contact us at the usual number.

Do you have a couple of hours a week to spare in which you could help us, either by helping in the studio preparing the memory sticks ready for despatch, recording the sessions or even as a reader. Contact us at the number on the contact page or email us