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START UP A LOCAL TN

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

The average cost of an established Talking Newspaper providing a weekly tape to around 200 listeners is probably between £5,000 and £10,000. But do not let this put you off; a very good TN service can be started for as little as £2.50 per listener i.e. the cost of a good quality cassette and special postal wallet, plus another £1.00 per edition for a new master cassette. Many of the existing TNs have started in this modest way. The wide range of estimated costs of established TNs arises from the increasing cost of equipment over the past few years and the decreasing number of cassette players which TNs have to provide on free loan as they come to be regarded as essential as radio.

In order to start on this minimum capital cost basis, one assumes that you, or a colleague, have a good quality cassette recorder or music centre and that you are prepared to use it for making the weekly recording until funds become available to purchase one for the new TNA. One assumes that you start by supplying those listeners who possess their own cassette players and compile a waiting list those who need players on loan. It has been found that many listeners are prepared to buy their own players when it is explained to them how easy they are to use and what a wealth of material is now available on tape especially for them. A waiting list of those who cannot buy their own is a powerful inducement to all fund-raising organisations to come to your aid. Finally, this 'cold start' assumes that you are able to arrange to borrow fast copying facilities from a nearby established TN or educational establishment with spare capacity. This should be much easier than it used to be in the early days, because there are now more than 500 TNs in operation and most use their copiers only 10% of the available time.

Once some experience has been gained and the service started and publicised, fund-raising will become easier and the funds rapidly accumulate to enable you to purchase your own equipment and if you wish, set up your own studio. What follows is a step-by-step description of how to set about starting your own local Talking Newspaper.

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