TVNZ Supports 'Sounds of Silence Campaign'.

15 September, 2006

TVNZ Supports 'Sounds of Silence Campaign'.

When viewers settle back to enjoy an evening of television viewing next week, they may experience intermittent sound breaks while watching some of the commercials.

This intentional lack of sound is the basis of the 'Sounds of Silence' campaign; sponsored by TVNZ and its advertisers for 'Deaf Awareness Week' and led by the NFD (National Foundation for the Deaf).

Selected TVNZ adverts will have 10-15 seconds of sound removed to demonstrate to viewers the daily experience of thousands of Deaf and hearing impaired New Zealanders. This will also be explained by a written message across the bottom of viewers' television screens.

"We are grateful to TVNZ and its advertisers for once again supporting the campaign", says Marianne Schumacher, Executive Manager, NFD. "The campaign has been successful in raising awareness of the day-to-day reality for many Deaf and hearing impaired New Zealanders."

Alison Munro, TVNZ's Captioning Manager, says "We are pleased to be able to support the campaign and our Deaf and hearing impaired viewers".

TVNZ's captioning team provides captions for over 130 hours of its programming a week for its Deaf and hearing impaired viewers, including its ONE News programmes. Nearly 90% of its peak time programming is captioned.

The campaign starts this Sunday evening, 17 September, and finishes on Saturday 23rd September.

ENDS

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