In a move that is sure to surprise the blindness assistive technology industry, Freedom Scientific has just announced that it has purchased the popular accessibility evangelism website BlindAccessJournal.com for $100,000 from its publisher, Darrell Shandrow.
Freedom Scientific representatives said this move puts the company on a par with other assistive technology companies like Serotek that also have recognized media outlets in the blind community.
“We’re excited to have Blind Access Journal on board with us,” said Jonathan Mosen, Freedom Scientific’s vice president of hardware development. “We know Darrell will put his passion for accessibility evangelism into his new role as our director of public relations, where he will be an excellent advocate for the use of our products as a means to make accessibility happen.”
“It was a very hard sell! After intensive negotiations concerning the content that will be permitted on the site, I must say I am honored to become part of the company in the industry with the largest screen-reader market share,” said the journal’s publisher, Darrell Shandrow. “I know that only JAWS can truly provide the level of accessibility we as blind people need now and well into the future.”