In Memory of Margaret Pfanstiehl

Posted by Paul Schroeder on 10/6/2009 3:02:09 PM

Last week, the blindness field lost another dear friend, Margaret Pfanstiehl. After losing her vision in her 30s, Margaret became one of the earliest champions of audio description, ensuring that people with vision loss could have access to television, newspapers, theatre, and other forms of entertainment. In 1974, she founded Metropolitan Washington Ear, which provided newspapers and other information on the radio and then over recorded telephone service. Soon after, Margaret was approached by local theatre companies to provide audio description of live plays. Through this work, she and her husband Cody honed the art of description and expanded the Ear's mission to describe television, museum exhibits, operas, and more.

Like many people with vision loss in the Washington, DC area, I am indebted to Margaret for bringing the world of information and arts a whole lot closer. I listened to the newspaper first on the Washington Ear radio and then dial-up system. And I love the description that is now available for so much theatre in the Washington area.

Margaret's passion and commitment caught AFB's attention, and in 2001, we awarded her and Cody an Access Award for their pioneering work in audio description. The next time you watch a movie, play, or television show with audio description, think of Margaret and send her a silent thank you. You can read more about Margaret Pfanstiehl's life at the Washington Post.

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