Arundel and South Downs MP, Andrew Griffith, was interviewed by the Chichester Area Talking News team for its December programme which has been delivered to listeners this month (listen here - INSIGHT Winter 2025 (Edition 171) | Chichester Area Talking News). The service produces audio recordings of local news for blind and visually impaired people in the wider Chichester area who cannot read local newspapers.
The Chichester Area Talking News (CaTN) is a charity with a recording studio based at St Richard’s hospital where they record hour-long programmes which are then loaded onto USB memory sticks and posted to listeners. This entirely voluntary-led free service helps to share ad-free news and stories which are not covered by way of television and radio.
Ken Pritchard, Chairman of CaTN, welcomed Andrew to their studios and gave him an overview of their important local service. The main content of their fortnightly programme is a roundup of local news and features taken from the Chichester, Bognor, and Midhurst and Petworth Observer newspapers. They also produce a magazine edition which includes interviews with local people of interest.
Alicia Denny, an experienced journalist and reporter, interviewed Andrew for their special December programme. The interview covered all aspects of his career in business before becoming an MP, and explored his areas of interest including education, dark skies, and health services. The interview concluded with the favourite ‘desert island’ question about his favourite book (answer: Charlie Wilson’s War).
Chichester Area Talking News is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. On 5th December 1975 – exactly 50 years ago – the first recording was made onto cassette tapes for 42 listeners. With the progression of technology, they now record and copy onto USB memory sticks in-house. These are posted in special wallets to customers, who return them when listened to.
After the interview, Andrew Griffith MP said:
“The local Talking News service is such an important service for those who are visually impaired. It was a pleasure to be interviewed by Alicia who put some well-researched questions to me for their magazine edition. The volunteers, trustees, fundraisers and technical team of this charity are doing some really great work here and I wish them a truly golden anniversary and many more years of service.”
