SpinVox Teams with WNYC Radio to Bring Interactive Coverage on Super Tuesday
SpinVox, the global leader in Voice-to-Screen messaging, announced today that is has partnered with WNYC Radio, the largest American public radio station, based in New York, to enable greater listener interactivity during the station’s ongoing coverage of the February 5th multi-state primary, dubbed “Super Duper Tuesday.”
The special coverage will be hosted by WNYC’s esteemed public affairs host Brian Lehrer, who will get on-the-ground updates from public radio reporters from the 22 states holding primaries that day.
SpinVox will be utilized in a special segment throughout each hour of coverage entitled “America’s Exit Poll.” John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji, the hosts of the new upcoming morning drive news program from WNYC and PRI, in editorial collaboration with the BBC, the New York Times, and WGBH Radio, will use SpinVox to communicate directly with voters in the Super Duper Tuesday states.
Voters will be encouraged to contribute thoughts, comments and observations by speaking messages to a special phone number set up for the radio station. Those messages will be converted into text by SpinVox and will dynamically become a part of the coverage in real time. Hockenberry and Udoji will report on voter sentiments and read select text on-air. .
“We’re so lucky to have SpinVox helping us with this,” said John Keefe, WNYC Senior Executive Producer of News. “By using its voice-to-text system, every listener call will become part of the conversation—not just the few that typically get through during call-in shows.”
Keefe said producers will analyze the text of all calls, along with listener emails and text messages, giving Hockenberry and Udoji unique perspectives on the attitudes, opinions and trends of everyone who participates. He said audio from of dozens of calls, passed through from the SpinVox service, also will become part of the coverage.
WNYC’s coverage of Super Tuesday will begin at 7 PM EST on February 5th and run through the early morning until the California votes are called. The show will be simulcast on several other public radio stations around the country as well.
Listeners who wish to offer their comments or stream the coverage live can do so by linking to http://www.americasexitpoll.org where there will be options for reaching the show’s hosts and instructions for sending their messages through the SpinVox voice-to-text option. Some listeners may be called back and asked to go on air with the show’s hosts.
“There is no more important time for dialogue, discussion and human connection than during a Presidential campaign and SpinVox is proud to be working with WNYC to create a forum where the average person can have a voice,” said Christina Domecq. “SpinVox is all about connecting people and giving them the ability to ‘speak freely.’ This initiative with WNYC is another great example of the value, power and wide-ranging usability of our voice-to-text platform.”
About SpinVox
SpinVox® brought together the two most popular methods of communication – voice and text – and created a new category of messaging called Voice-to-Screen™. Its award-winning service is now making everyday communication simpler and more powerful, creating new recurring revenues for wireless, landline, cable and VOIP carriers as well as service providers and web partners. SpinVox has already launched its service with Alltel, Cincinnati Bell, Rogers Wireless, Sasktel, Telstra, Vodacom South Africa and LiveJournal and announced deals with Vodafone Spain and Skype. As a managed service provider any network or service can rapidly and cost-effectively implement SpinVox.
At the heart of SpinVox is its Voice Message Conversion System™ (VMCS), which works by combining state-of-the-art speech technologies with a live-learning language process. VMCS is being rolled-out across four continents in four languages - English, French, Spanish and German.
About WNYC Radio
WNYC Radio is New York’s premier public radio station, comprising WNYC 93.9 FM and WNYC AM 820. As America’s most listened-to public radio stations, reaching more than one million listeners every week, WNYC FM and AM extend New York City’s cultural riches to the entire country and air the best national offerings from affiliate networks National Public Radio®, Public Radio International® and American Public Media. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and classical music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. For more information, visit http://www.wnyc.org.