WRBH

WRBH was founded by a local mathematician, Dr. Robert McClean, who was blind. He envisioned an FM reading radio station, with programming content for the blind and visually impaired. In 1975, McClean began leasing airtime from WWNO and renting studio space from New Orleans’ Lighthouse for the Blind. By 1982, his efforts expanded after purchasing the 88.3 FM wavelength, making WRBH the United States’ first 24-hour FM reading radio station for the blind.

In 1994, WRBH purchased a 4,000-square-foot, 19th-century Victorian building on New Orleans’ Magazine Street. This location serves as WRBH's recording studio and administrative space. In 2000, WRBH added its programming to the internet via live audio streaming and podcasts.

In 2014, WRBH partnered with a New Orleans-based marketing and public relations firm to redesign its logo and website while also making the site fully compatible with screen reading software. The station is used by visually-impaired persons in the New Orleans region and others worldwide through its online streaming capabilities.

The majority of information in print and on the internet is not easily accessible to those who cannot read. For the blind and print handicapped community, this lack of access to information can increase their sense of isolation, lower their standard of living, and become a serious obstacle in everyday life. WRBH seeks to keep everyone equally informed by providing access to news and information, promoting cultural enrichment, and encouraging mental and emotional independence for those who cannot read.

WRBH offers a wide variety of programming including local and national news, best-selling fiction and non-fiction books, magazine articles, children's books, event calendars, interview segments, health programs, cooking shows, and grocery store ads, as well as shows geared toward Spanish, Haitian, and Vietnamese communities. This programming is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year because of the work of over 150 volunteers who donate nearly 5,000 hours of their time annually.

WRBH produces several in-house shows including Charlie's Music Show where host Charles Smith interviews musicians of all genres, Writers Forum, which provides an opportunity for local authors to discuss their work, and New Orleans by Mouth, moderated by Amy Sins.

WRBH's target audience is those with difficulty in reading. While the majority of reading services for the blind use mechanized voice software, WRBH is the only organization providing this variety of programming via the human voice from over 150 volunteers. This makes WRBH's programs of interest to the newly blind or those who have experienced vision loss due to age, since it can take several years for the untrained ear to become accustomed to the speed and cadence of the mechanized voice software.

In addition, WRBH's content is also of interest to the general public, who tune in to listen to the news, event listings, best-selling fiction and nonfiction books, short stories, magazine articles, and an array of programs encouraging cultural, educational, and emotional enrichment.

Since 2000, WRBH has served a worldwide audience by making audio streaming and podcasts available free of charge over the internet. WRBH's terrestrial broadcasting power is 25,000 watts, making the station's FM signal available across a 90-mile radius stretching over Hancock County, Mississippi and the following Louisiana parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Charles, St. John, Terrebonne, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.

The overarching objective of WRBH is to actively involve, invigorate, and enable the New Orleans community and other regions by providing them with a source of entertainment and information. WRBH has garnered several accolades over the years, such as the City of New Orleans' Proclamation of Recognition for 30 Years of Service in 2012, the Governor's Media Award in 1999, the Mayor's Medal of Honor in 1998, and the designation as the 257th Point of Light by President George Bush, Sr. in 1990.

To further its outreach in the community, the station collaborates with the following organizations that share common goals or serve the blind and print handicapped in other ways:

• Lighthouse for the Blind serves the blind and visually impaired community by providing products, services, and opportunities for independence. WRBH guest lectures at their classes twice a year, refer listeners to their services, and supports their organization through public service announcements (PSAs).
• Blinded Veterans Association promotes the welfare of blinded veterans so that they may take their rightful place in the community and work with their fellow citizens toward the creation of a peaceful world. WRBH participates in their annual expo and supports them through PSAs.
• New Orleans Filipino-American Lions Club refurbishes used eyeglasses for the needy. WRBH acts as a drop off spot for used glasses, supports them through PSAs, and allows their directors to meet in WRBH's board room once a month, free of charge.
• Entergy: Since 2009, WRBH has partnered with Entergy to broadcast Going Green, which educates listeners on energy efficiency. Entergy underwrites the program, while Entergy and WRBH generate the educational content.
• Ben Franklin High School: WRBH partners with Ben Franklin High School during “Hogs for the Cause,” a fundraising festival for families with children being treated for brain cancer. Ben Franklin High School's Student Council Members volunteer to help WRBH in this event.
• Young Leadership Council: WRBH partners with the Young Leadership Council (YLC) to broadcast “One Book One New Orleans.” YLC spearheads the campaign for literacy, which calls on residents to share the experience of reading the same book each fall. WRBH records and broadcasts an audio recording of the book, read by YLC youth volunteers.
• The Big Read, a project of the National Endowment for the Arts, supports community-wide reading programs that encourage reading and participation by diverse audiences. Southern Food and Beverage Museum acts as host, and WRBH records the book and advertises the program.

• WRBH's website
• WRBH in the FCC FM station database
• WRBH on Radio-Locator
• WRBH in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

29.950°N 89.958°W / 29.950; -89.958