Washington Council of the Blind Newsline

Washington Council of the Blind Newsline (WCB Newsline) is a quarterly magazine published by the Washington State affiliate of the American Council of the Blind.^[1] The magazine was founded by Carl Jarvis in 1972 as a publication of the Washington State Association of the Blind, and was initially produced as a large-print magazine.^[2] Jarvis launched WCB Newsline to fill a gap that had been left when the Washington State Association of the Blind's previous publication, White Cane Magazine, had ceased to be published.^[2] White Cane Magazine had been a monthly publication and had served as a crucial avenue for educating state legislators about issues of concern for visually impaired Washingtonians, and Jarvis hoped to preserve and expand upon that tradition with Newsline.^[2]

Washington Council of the Blind Newsline 50th Anniversary Edition

The earliest large-print editions of Newsline were produced using 18-point typewriter font stencils and an old hand-cranked copy machine.^[2] This method was used until 1981.^[2] Production was then relocated to a printing center at Eastern State College (now Eastern Washington University).^[2] Since the 1990s, WCB Newsline has been issued in audio form—first cassette tape and then digital audio cartridge—and has been issued in screen reader friendly and large-print digital text format since 2002.^[2][3] Topics covered by the magazine include human-interest stories, advocacy, legislation, local events, history, entrepreneurship, science, and technology.^[4] The magazine's archives serve as a continuous record of major advances in programs and services to the blind in Washington State.^[2] The WCB Newsline content editor is Heather Meares and its technical editor is Reginald George.^[2] Former editors include Carl Jarvis, who was editor for 10 years, and Peggy Shoel, who served for 15 years.^[2]

WCB Newsline won the Hollis K. Liggett Braille Free Press Award in 2011 and 2020 for promoting best journalistic practices and excellence in writing.^[2][4][5] A companion podcast, WCB Newsline Unleashed, was launched in October 2020.^[6]