ACCESS News, a Knight Community Information Challenge project to bring news to the deaf and hearing in Austin, Texas, has been recognized as “Best Hands-On News” by The Austin Chronicle.

“ACCESS News is a groundbreaking half-hour news program designed to open the city, and the world, to Austin’s sizeable deaf and hard-of-hearing community,” the Chronicle said. “Anchored by Gallaudet University graduate Tamara Suiter-Ocuto, this civic-minded project is relevant for both hearing and deaf, bringing everyone together to foster a greater sense of civic responsibility and understanding.”

ACCESS News is a half-hour television program hosted by Suiter-Ocuto, who is deaf, and interpreted by Jennifer Stoker. Suiter-Ocuto interviews people from all walks of life, including: Congressional leaders, Nobel Prize laureates, law enforcement officials, New York Times best selling authors, community activists and more.  Each episode is presented in American Sign Language, English, and captioned.

The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly alternative newspaper published with a readership of 230,000.

ACCESS News was a 2010 winner of the Knight Community Information Challenge, developed by Dvorah Ben-Moshe and Ken Hurley with support from The Austin Community Foundation.

By Dvorah Ben-Moshe, executive producer for ACCESS News