NOW IS THE TIME!
March 2003

There was the time when we celebrated the FCC rule that gave blind people the ability to fully enjoy television programming like all other Americans through the medium of video description. Finally we were able to participate in what everyone else took for granted and our conversations with everyone around us could be on an equal footing when it came to talking about shows like Boston Public, CSI, and JAG. Then came the time when the Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, and the Cable Television Industry Association sought to rob us of our new found access and rights through their law suit. Their arrogance of wealth and insensitivity to our only seeking access to what others enjoy on the public airwaves got them a court ruling in favor of their position that the FCC lacked an express congressional mandate to supply description. It also brought a deep and continuous resolve from our people to seek the very mandate they asserted was not there. Now is the time, the time for what we have prepared as the Video Description Restoration Act (VDRA) which is under consideration by the staffs of the respective congressional committees and soon will be presented to the chairs of those committees (Senator McCain from Arizona and Representative Tauzin from Louisiana) to seek their direct sponsorship. In short, now is the time for us to fight back and make Congress aware of our abiding faith in fairness and the need to restore the FCC mandate and go beyond it to expand described programming, to require access to visual screens so that we can navigate them, to have access to emergency information, and to declare once and for all that blind folks are just as deserving as anyone else to enjoy what all other Americans take for granted.

What follows are first our fact sheet on the VDRA, then the language of the proposed legislation drawn up by the same person who worked on closed captioning for the deaf. After reading these documents, you can either call 202-225-3121 and ask for your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives and your Senators in the U.S. Senate, or you can visit U.S. House of Representatives website and U.S. Senate website to look up your representative and senator and send them an email right on the spot. It is critical that you do this since we will need every voice from every part of the country to demand that the Video Description Restoration Act be sponsored, co-sponsored and passed by congress for the President to sign! Whether you are blind or disabled or anything else, we need your help! Send this to every email list you can! Send it to your friends and associates. Send it to your church groups and civic associations! Send it everywhere you can think to do and make sure you make the calls and send the emails to your representative and senators in Congress.

We have worked so hard as a community to gain the little bit we have won in access to television, we have witnessed the arrogance of the wealthy media associations, and now it is time for Congress to witness the power of the people that cannot be denied once we have set free our resolve to be heard.

THE AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT VIDEO DESCRIPTION AND THE VIDEO DESCRIPTION RESTORATION ACT

What is the Video Description Restoration Act (VDRA)?

The VDRA restores the FCC's video description rules, recently overturned in Federal Court. The Act would guarantee TV access for people who are not able to either see or otherwise understand what is happening visually during a television program. The VDRA would expressly grant FCC authority to restore its minimum requirements. With increased access over time.

What is video description?

Video description is the use of narration during natural pauses in dialog to let a person not able to see the screen know what is happening. Imagine yourself watching television. While music plays in the background, a voice describes a van marked "express air and heat" pulling up to a building where a sign reads "National Security Council." Inside the building the man crawls through an air conditioning vent to a conference room and attaches a small microphone at the base of a vent above a table. The camera switches between people entering the room and the van pulling away from the building. There are countless scenes such as this which would leave a visually impaired person who can not see what is happening on the screen only to imagine what was happening and, further, frustrated by the lack of information.

Is video description still available?

Currently there is a residual amount of video description on television, made available from the time when the FCC mandate went into effect in April 2002. However, this described video is not secure and even when it is broadcast by the networks, our national membership tells us that the pass through of description on satellite, cable, and local stations is spotty at best.

Does the narration interfere with the ability of others to enjoy TV programming?

No. On television, the narration comes over a secondary audio programming (SAP) channel which is normally off unless switched on by people who want to hear it. The VDRA will continue providing audible descriptions via this mechanism and require a similar conversion for digital television where viewers will be able to select video description as one of the many audio options that technology offers.

What was the FCC mandate that the VDRA restores as a minimum level of service?

The Federal Communications Commission required the major networks and cable channels in the top twenty-five television markets to present at least four hours of described programming per week. The FCC further required that video described programs be made available where TV stations not in the top 25 markets had the equipment to do so.

Why should Congress pass the VDRA?

The vast majority of the blindness community enjoyed and continues to want video description as a matter of access and fairness. In many ways, video description is for blind people what closed captioning is for those who are deaf. Because the infrastructure is already in place and has been since the FCC mandate, no major effort is required of the industry to continue the service. Modern television increasingly relies upon visual effects and scenes to convey important elements of the plot, in contrast to older programming that was more dialog oriented. Moreover, while some networks such as Fox have been very supportive of the needs of blind and visually impaired viewers, even exceeding the requirements of the original mandate , there are others who may well choose to drop the service and even in those cases where networks continue to broadcast descriptions, the service is useless if it never makes it to consumers because of broken links in the delivery system which now has no responsibility to comply with an FCC rule now defunct.

Who supports video description and why?

The American Council of the Blind and all the other members of the National Television and Video Access Coalition have supported video description for more than 15 years because they understand that the service affords blind people the same access to information on television that sighted viewers take for granted. Other groups and advocates, including The American Association of Retired Persons, The American Foundation for the Blind, The Blinded Veterans Association, The Washington Metropolitan Ear, and other disability and deafness groups have also supported the service for the same reason. The FCC order came only after the commercial industry had essentially ignored the access issues for those 15 years.

Is video description expensive?

No. Producers of the service currently charge between two and four thousand dollars for an hour of programming. How does this affect the average person?

Consider yourself and your family. If anyone were to lose vision and reach a point where they need to have television described, would this not be best accomplished by a professional service that accompanies television programs? There is not always someone else around to describe what is happening visually in a given television program, and family members and friends may have varying tastes, amounts of free time, or preferences. Should a visually impaired person have to rely upon the generosity of others in a household to acquire such basic information when it has been adequately demonstrated that video description can be delivered easily and economically by the television networks? Also, consider that vision loss is a common occurrence with aging and video description is a way to guarantee that those who encounter vision loss will not be left out of the ability to enjoy television in much the same way they always did.

Where is there ongoing information about this issue?

You can visit the web site of the American Council of the Blind or call us at area code (202)467-5081 to get the latest information.

Video Description Restoration Act

To amend Sections 303, 711, and 713 of the Communications Act of 1934

Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE - This Act may be cited as the "Video Description Restoration Act of 2003"

Sec. 2. (a) FINDINGS - The Congress finds that -

1. Television plays a critical role in our society as a vital source of news, information, local and community affairs, education, and entertainment;
2. The inability of more than eight to twelve million Americans with visual disabilities to follow the visual action in television programs puts these individuals at a significant disadvantage in their daily lives;
3. The nation has a compelling public interest in furthering the safety, security and well-being of persons who are blind and visually impaired by ensuring, to the fullest extent made possible by technology, equal access to the television medium;
4. Video description can assist millions of school aged children with learning disabilities by enhancing the televised information to which they have access.
5. Digital technology facilitates the accommodation and provision of video description;
6. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled that the Federal Communications Commission lacked authority to issue regulations that would ensure accessibility to video programming by persons who are blind and visually impaired through video description; and
7. Legislative action is necessary to restore the authority of the Commission to establish rules and regulations to require video description.

(b) PURPOSE - It is the purpose of this Act to provide a clear and comprehensive mandate for the provision of access to video programming by persons who are blind and visually impaired through video description.

Sec. 3. DEFINITIONS

(a) VIDEO DESCRIPTION - The term "video description" has the meaning given to it by section 713(g) of this Act. (42 U.S.C. 613(g).

(b) UNDUE BURDEN - The term "undue burden" has the meaning given to it by section 713(e) of this Act. (42 U.S.C. 613(e)). Sec 4. COMMISSION AUTHORITY - Section 303 of the Act is amended by adding thereto subsection (z), as follows: "Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Commission from time to time, as public convenience, interest, or necessity requires, shall - (z) have authority to make rules and regulations to ensure that video programming, including emergency video programming, is accessible through video description."

Sec. 5. REGULATIONS REQUIRED - Section 713 (f) of the Act is amended as follows: The Commission shall,

1. within six months after the enactment of this section, reinstate regulations previously set forth in 47 C.F.R. 79.3 (2001) of the Commission's rules governing the provision of video description on video programming; (2) within one year after the enactment of this section establish an appropriate schedule of deadlines to ensure that video programming first published or exhibited after the effective date of such regulations is fully accessible through the provision of video description. The requirements contained in such schedule shall exceed such requirements as are set forth in the Commission's rules referenced in subsection (1);
2. within one year after the enactment of this section establish regulations to ensure that individuals who are blind or visually impaired are provided with a readily accessible means of opening and closing video descriptions via the second audio programming channel or its equivalent;
3. within one year after the enactment of this section establish regulations to ensure access to on-screen menus and other navigational programming tools by persons who are blind and visually impaired; and
4. within one year after the enactment of this section establish regulations to require video programming providers and owners to make available, through ordinary distribution channels, notice about the existence of programs containing video description."

Sec. 6. Section 713 is amended by adding the following subsections (i) and (j) "(i) EXEMPTIONS - Notwithstanding section (f) -

1. the Commission may exempt by regulation programs or classes of programs for which the Commission has determined that the provision of video description would be - i. unduly burdensome to the provider or owner of such programming; or ii. not necessary to achieve video programming accessibility by persons who are blind and visually impaired.
2. a provider of video programming or program owner may petition the Commission for an exemption from the requirements of this section, and the Commission may grant such petition upon a showing that the requirements contained in this section would result in an undue burden.
3. Except that nothing in this section may be construed to exempt video program providers or owners from existing and future obligations to provide access by persons who are blind and visually impaired to televised emergency programming.

(j) NEW TECHNOLOGIES - As new video technology is developed, the Commission shall take such action as the Commission determines appropriate to ensure that video description continues to be available to viewers."

Sec. 7 Section 711 of the Act is amended as follows: "Sec. 711.

Closed-captioning and video description of public service announcements

Any television public service announcement that is produced or funded in whole or in part by any agency or instrumentality of Federal Government shall include closed captioning of the verbal content of such announcement, and video description of the visual content of such announcement. A television broadcast station licensee -

1. shall not be required to supply closed captioning or video description for any such announcement that fails to include it; and
2. shall not be liable for broadcasting any such announcement without transmitting a closed caption or video description unless the licensee intentionally fails to transmit the closed caption or video description that was included with the announcement."

Now is the time. Let's get to work!

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