RNIB Connect Radio - the station that’s been speaking out for 20 years

Presenter Allan Russell, the first voice heard on RNIB Connect Radio and still at the station 20 years on. Picture: Richard Bailey

Twenty years ago in September 2003, a 32-year-old man who had recently lost his vision and who had little experience of radio broadcasting, sat in front of a microphone in a studio in the Partick area of Glasgow, and began to talk.

Way beneath him, down in the depths of what was once the Gullane Street police station where the hit ITV drama Taggart was filmed, were dark disused prison cells and a courtroom.It might not sound like an auspicious start for a tiny internet radio station, but Allan Russell’s words were the very first manifestations of a vision shared by a tiny group of individuals who wanted to help people live better with sight loss. It’s a vision that after two decades has blossomed into the hugely successful RNIB Connect Radio – which provides a lifeline of information and support for thousands of listeners with sight loss across the UK.Those 2003 pioneers were members of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) for whom Allan had been volunteering since losing his sight, and Glasgow City Council’s social work department. The seed of the idea received crucial backing from former councillor, Jim Coleman, then Deputy Leader of the Council, and from BBC Scotland which provided much-needed training.“It was just an idea to create some kind of internet way of getting information across to people with sight loss,” says Allan. “Until then, this had been done by talking newspapers and magazines which would often be days late when people got them. At first there was just a manager, myself and later a couple of people from the BBC and we just brainstormed ideas. We played music, we read bits of newspaper stories with the odd telephone interview and feature.”Early funding came from Glasgow City Council, British Wireless for the Blind and RNIB. The station broadcast a four-hour show which was put out on a repeated loop; now you can listen to it 24 hours a day on a smart speaker.As the station grew, it went through name and staff changes and reached out to an ever-wider audience. Allan recalls huge highlights including winning a Silver Sony award – a phenomenal achievement considering the station was up against some of the industry’s biggest names. Broadcasting from a huge sight loss event called Vision 2008 in Montreal was, Allan says, “a really big thing for us”; as was interviewing Sean Connery when Queen Elizabeth II opened the Scottish Parliament in 2007 at a time when he notoriously refused interviews with press.“They cleared the gallery for us in the Scottish Parliament, it was incredible,” says Allan.But it’s the impact the station has on the community that still gives Allan the greatest buzz. He recalls an unemployed young man who had lost his sight coming through as a volunteer, joining the station and then going on to a very successful job at the BBC. Or recently when the station’s DJs took part in a martial arts session; so many listeners called in to say they wanted to try it that a Wing Chun group for people with sight loss is now being set up.The station now reaches 90,000 listeners and its podcasts are downloaded more than 20,000 times each month. It has 12 presenters, all of whom have sight loss and broadcasts fresh content around the clock.There’s no doubt that thousands of people with sight loss have benefitted from the vital information the station broadcasts about technology, braille, audio books, transport, eye health, counselling, sight loss courses and countless other issues. It’s also become a source of news and entertainment for many sighted people, and a chance for them to learn about sight loss.Allan is still at the station with his faithful guide dog Quigley, now a fan favourite, and he’s still working hard with his colleagues to help people with sight loss.He and the staff are about to help the station celebrate its 20th anniversary throughout this month with a schedule of very special content. These include round table discussions on key issues like employment, media representation and sex, Blind Leading The Blind Events which showcase the station’s DJs learning new skills like wrestling and paddle boarding, and guest editor slots by celebrities including Winter Love Island’s and RNIB Ambassador Ron Hall.Much has changed for people with sight loss in 20 years. There is less name calling and bullying, though it still happens, better support at clinics from staff such as RNIB’s Eye Care Liaison Officers (ECLOs) and far better technology in terms of screen readers and smart phone apps. Yet RNIB staff are all too aware that so much still needs to change.A recent campaign to stop the UK Government’s plan to close ticket offices at railway stations has been widely covered. In 2022 a massive RNIB campaign called ‘See The Person’ began a drive to ask sighted people to see beyond a person’s sight loss and focus on their qualities.“We’ve still got so much left to do,” says Yvonne Milne, RNIB’s Head of Radio at Connect Radio. “We’re still very far from being in a perfect world for people with sight loss. I want the station to continue to grow our listenership and centre the voices of blind and partially sighted people. The more people we can reach, the more we can raise awareness of the experiences of people with sight loss and bust some of the myths that exist.”The hope is that thousands more listeners with and without sight loss tune in to the station both as of a source of vital information and just for pure entertainment.

“Hitting 20 is amazing,” says Yvonne. “I’m not sure any of us thought we would make it to 20 years, but I truly believe we do make a difference. The anniversary will show us how far we’ve come but also just how far things like technology and society have moved on to help people with sight loss.”

Tune in to RNIB Connect Radio throughout September for a series of 20th anniversary programmes on Freeview channel 730, online at www.rnib.org.uk/connect-radio/ and on 101 FM in the Glasgow area. You can also listen via smart devices by saying ‘Alexa play RNIB Connect Radio’.