Newspaper & Mailroom
Newspaper Vocalisation & Services: Swedish News Journal Riksdag & Departement Chooses TTS-Solution From Acapela Group
Wednesday 06. May 2009 - When the news journal Riksdag & Departement (Swedish Parliament's newspaper) was looking for a simpler, quicker and more economic solution to record and distribute its audio version, initially intended for visually impaired people, they chose a Text-to-Speech (TTS) solution from Acapela Group.
Riksdag & Departement (R&D), ‘Sweden’s newspaper on politicaldevelopments today,’ is issued 38 times a year and has a circulation of 10800. The first audio version, a 60 minute synthesis of the journal’s contentsrecorded by a human voice/in a studio, was distributed by mail on CD.
When looking for a more efficient and modern method, R&D considered theInternet combined with speech synthesis as a possible solution. Of all thebids received, the one from Acapela was judged to be the most comprehensiveand relevant to R&D’s requirements. The excellent quality of Acapela’s TTSand the quick and flexible production process were determining factors.Instead of just getting a synopsis of the magazine, subscribers that preferlistening to reading can now access the full contents of every issue.
‘We decided to switch to a new, modern method of distributing the audioversion of our news which is more cost efficient than previous methods and isof very good quality,’ says Nils Funcke, editor in chief of R&D.
The printed version of the journal is distributed on a Monday and theaudio version must be available by the following Wednesday at the latest.The editorial staff send a pdf file of the contents to Acapela on the Fridaybefore distribution of the printed version. Acapela then creates the audioversion employing its TTS technology, using either the Elin or the ErikSwedish voices, and delivers the journal within two working days. Subscriberswill be able to download R&D either in DAISY or in MP3-format, from http://www.rod.se or via a link sent out by email. For those who prefer, the journal can still also be sent out on a CD. Readers, or listeners, will now be able to download an MP3-file of the journal and listen to it on their cell phone or MP3-player.
‘We are very pleased to work with R&D on this project. Thanks to the highly improved quality of speech synthesis over the last couple of years and new techniques for producing audio newspapers, more and more people will get the opportunity to listen to their favourite newspaper or magazine whilst out driving or walking for example. Everyone can now benefit from this development, not only visually impaired people,’ says Lars-Erik Larsson, CEO of Acapela Group.