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Sponsored by: Audio Journal
May 6, 2025 Business Profiles 2025

Audio Journal a Friend in the Living Room to the Blind and Print-Disabled

Photos / Courtesy Audio Journal Mass. Director of Rural Affairs Anne Gobi, State Rep. Kim Ferguson and Audio Journal Executive Director Harry Duchesne pose with advisors/listeners Nona Haroyan and Sharon Strzalkowski.
Volunteers Gloria Payne and Simon Waters read the day’s news.
Volunteers Beverly Giarusso and Marian Giacomelli share the “Telegram and Gazette” with listeners.

There’s an old-school “On Air” sign above the door to Audio Journal’s main studio, its fishbowl layout filled with surprisingly high-tech equipment.

The studio serves as a metaphor for the work that Audio Journal undertakes every day, bringing traditional print news, information, and entertainment into the living rooms of those who are blind and print-disabled.

Founded in 1987 by Sue Wagner, Audio Journal began broadcasting from a closet in the Worcester Public Library.

“There’s such a powerful effect from hearing the warmth of a human voice in our broadcasts,” said Harry Duchesne, executive director since 2022. AI-enabled news podcasts are listener options, he notes, but they lack the local touch. Audio Journal programs help to counter the social isolation and health deterioration often experienced by people unable to read print material.

Today, Audio Journal operates from the Seven Hills Professional Building at 799 West Boylston St. in Worcester. Listeners can access Audio Journal online, with a mobile app, smart speakers, or on a free special radio receiver from a shared frequency of WICN. As new listener Rita Deluca recently told Duchesne, “Audio Journal is like my friend in the living room.”

Another three studios serve intern and regular recording programs, with interns from WORK Inc., Perkins School, and the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind supporting Audio Journal and learning on the job.

To fulfill its expansive mission, our small but mighty staff of four coordinate 180+ enthusiastic volunteers. Longest-serving volunteer David Russell has clocked in 34 years of airtime. Newcomers are welcome anytime and can sign up through the website at https://audiojournal.org/, with a special need for Sunday volunteer readers and board members eager to support Worcester County’s blind community.

Several devoted listeners also serve as volunteers, speaking to the dedication of our audience to the work we do. Bill Ruggiero listens to the weather report on TV, memorizes it, and phones it in verbatim during our live “Morning Report” news program. He also finds local leaders to interview for his monthly show, “Talking Topics.”

Volunteers serve in many ways. Writer CJ Posk is a board member and a vital voice in the programming advisory group. Former Perkins graduate Sai Pittman records pre-school stories weekly, adding imaginative sound effects. Local celebrity Lavender Darcangelo (of “America’s Got Talent” fame) currently serves as an intern for 2025. Using her braille reader, she records story books for school-age children and would love to be a professional narrator.

As executive director, Duchesne has steadily grown Audio Journal’s programming, including content from State House news, 60 local Worcester County newspapers, novels and poetry for all ages, creative interview talk shows, old-time theater, local guided tours, and starting in June 2025, live choral and orchestral concerts broadcast from Mechanics Hall.

We are always seeking sponsors to join our dedicated base of supporters, including Lions Clubs, Memorial Foundation for the Blind, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, other local foundations, several banks and many individual donors. To find out more, please visit https://audiojournal.org/. 

Street Address: 799 W. Boylston St., Suite 230, Worcester MA, 01606

Phone Number: 508-797-1117

Website: www.audiojournal.org

Product or Service Description: Radio Reading Services for the Blind and Print-Disabled. Some 1,140 people access this life-affirming service.

Number of Employees: 4

Head of Company and Title: Harry Duchesne, Executive Director

Year Founded: 1987