Interview with Stuart Barrie, Station Manager at Insight Radio

Interview with Stuart Barrie, Station Manager

A few weeks ago, we presented the brilliant work of Insight Radio - a radio station dedicated to improve the life of people who are blind and visually impaired.

Today, we talk to Stuart, the radio manager. Stuart has been working for Insight Radio for just under a year and really values the experience.

Stuart, you have been working for 11 months with Insight. What would you say is your most rewarding experience so far?

It is very difficult to say, really. Insight is a leading radio inspired by and run for the blind and partially s
ighted community and it has such a positive impact on the community. Every day, we talk about things that matters and which are not always approached elsewhere. We often talk to
motivational speakers; we try to offer something a bit different. The other week we talked about Buddy Dogs to explain how dogs that do not make it as guide dogs can still find a good home.

Many of our topics are pretty emotional and matter to people, that's what I like about for Insight, you learn so much across the day.

The station started small but 8 years down the line, it is now available globally and with over 130,000 weekly listeners you are obviously doing it right, what gives you the edge?

Here at Insight, we work to promote independent living as well as healthy living. We want the community to feel integrated. Our tech show is very popular. We discuss the latest devices, such as the Apple Watch and it helped people to decide if it would be a useful device for them. All our presenters are blind or partially sighted so we know what we are talking about and we approach everything from our own perspective. It is very important for our community to keep up-to-date with changes; we work hard to cover numerous issues, from accessible voting to Windows 10. It's a great service.

Tell me more about healthy living; I saw that you were offering Blind Yoga?

Yes, that's right. It is important to adapt and be flexible. Marty is the founder of Blind yoga, he has been a yogi for 30 years. He is a truly inspirational character and thanks to him, we can start the day feeling refreshed. Blind yoga is on at 6.30 every day but if that's too early, there are podcasts available on the website.

What else does the radio offer?

We also offer training courses for those interested in working in Media. Aimed at young people between 16 -25, the training offers a flexible learning experience in a professional studio. From radio broadcasting to journalism and content gathering what we offer can make a big difference on a CV. If anyone is interested, they can find more information on our website and contact us with any questions.

You also work in collaboration with RNIB to facilitate access to technology?

Yes, that’s right; we offer free digital training courses in collaboration with RNIB. At the moment, there are three types of courses, a taster session, introductory sessions, and progressive courses. We try to adapt to what people want and their particular needs. Technology is an important part of life; we discuss it very regularly at our radio. In one of our most recent Tech Show we talked about Windows 10 for instance.

You can watch a video here about the RNIB Training Project or find the video transcript here

Insight Radio is available

Online
via Sky Channel 0188
in Glasgow on 101FM
on freesat channel 777
on Freeview channel 730

Interview with Stuart Barrie, Station Manager at Insight Radio

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