You may recognize Jonathan Mosen's name from his Blind Side podcast, Mushroom FM, or his work with Freedom Scientific. Based in New Zealand, he has been a major advocate for people who are blind or visually impaired his entire adult life. Especially through his podcasts and Freedom Scientific, he has helped people who are blind learn new technologies. His accomplishments are many.
Personal Information
Mosen, 48, lives in Wellington. He is 5.35 feet tall. He remarked, "This surprises some people because they think I sound taller." He used to have ginger hair, but it is now a brownish color. He has always been totally blind with no light perception.
He has been married to Bonnie, who is also blind, since 2015. She was a regular listener to his radio show, "The Mosen Explosion," before they met. She was living in Massachusetts and he went there to do a Mosen Explosion episode. He invited her to come and cohost the show.
He said, "The rapport was great between us. After my previous marriage ended, our friendship developed into something more. She still listens to my show, I'm pleased to say, but now from upstairs. She also participates in it."
Mosen added that Bonnie is a valued part of Mosen Consulting. "She provides consultancy services on vocational related matters, and has published a popular book, It's Off to Work We Go. She also coordinates the Mosen Consulting job club, which provides advice to blind jobseekers."
Mosen has four children, Heidi, Richard, David, and Nicola. Heidi sometimes helps with the Blind Side podcast and Richard has a classic rock show on Mushroom FM. "My four children are known worldwide," he says. "Heidi also appears on my podcast, The Blind Side, from time to time. When we do iOS analysis, for example, after a WWDC event or other Apple keynote, Heidi is constantly taking screenshots of the slides, so that on The Blind Side, we can describe to blind people some of the visual elements of the Apple presentation that weren't covered on stage, including a physical description of new products."
Mosen currently uses a white cane for mobility. While working in the government relations field he did use a guide dog. When he started doing more international travel, he switched to the cane. He explained, "New Zealand has very strict quarantine laws because there are many diseases that haven't made it to our shores. So the constant leaving and re-entering New Zealand made having a guide dog difficult, plus I don't think it's terribly fair on the dog to subject it to very long flights on a regular basis. I don't do very much international travel now, so could get another dog, except I'm primarily home-office-based, so the dog wouldn't get a lot of work."
Education
Mosen attended a school for the blind from age 5 to age 11. After that, he was mainstreamed. He spoke about the importance of learning braille, saying, "I received thorough braille instruction, and without braille, I wouldn't have been able to do many of the jobs that I've held in my life."
In 1991, he received a BA degree in History and Political Studies from the University of Auckland. In 1999, he received a Master's in Public Policy from the Victoria University of Wellington.
On the Radio
Mosen began his radio career at a very young age. He explained:
Like many blind people, I was fascinated by the radio. I also loved to talk. Still do, funnily enough. My mother tells me I was talking fluently from about 18 months. So, one day when I was four, I decided to give the radio station a call during a talk show. They seemed quite pleased to hear from me, so I kept calling back.
One day not long before Christmas, my parents received a telegram from the radio station. And I appreciate there will be many younger readers who have no clue what a telegram is. The telegram asked for one of them to call the manager at the radio station. My mum and dad had quite the discussion about who would make the call, because they thought the radio station was going to ask them to ensure their precocious son ceases and desists. In the end, my dad made the call. They wanted to know if I would be allowed to come into the studio and host a show just before Christmas for children. I loved every minute of it. It was a very popular thing that ran for over a decade, until I became a cynical teenager. Then it really didn't work anymore. Fortunately, by that stage, I was exploring how to set up my own radio station, which I duly did.
While still in college, Mosen began his commercial broadcasting career at Counties Radio, which served the Counties Manukau area. He then moved to Auckland 1476 where he hosted a morning current affairs show, interviewing politicians and newsmakers. He also worked at Today FM and then Q96 FM, where he was the program director.
Advocacy
In 1994, Mosen was appointed Manager of Government Relations for the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. His accomplishments in his five years in this position included changes to the copyright act making printed material available to people with visual impairments, getting the right for blind people to serve on a jury, and saving the right for free postage for braille and talking books. Mosen explained, "In New Zealand, a decision had been made to end the postal concession. It took a full on campaign to get that decision reversed."
He was also instrumental in the name change of the Foundation. It is now the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.
Mosen served two terms as president of the consumer group, the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand, from 1997 until 2001. He was the youngest person to hold that position. He said, "The thing I'm most proud of in that role is overturning the old, custodial, institutionalized governance structure of the Foundation for the Blind. Prior to the reforms in which I played a key part, the Foundation's board was appointed in the main either by volunteers or government. Now, blind people elect the board. That's as it should be. But it was a massive struggle that took several years to complete, in the face of a lot of resistance from the establishment." From 2002 to 2003 he served as the Foundation's chairman of the board.
Mosen was awarded the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand's Beamish Memorial medal in 2003, their most prestigious award, for his services to the blind of New Zealand.
More Radio
American Council of the Blind (ACB) Radio began on December 1, 1999 with Mosen at the helm. By the time he left, in 2003, the station had four concurrent streams and listeners in over 70 countries.
In 2001, ACB presented Mosen with the Vernon Henley award for his positive representation of blind people through the media.
In 2010, Mosen started the popular Mushroom FM internet radio station. It now has listeners in more than 115 countries. Here is a schedule of their programming.
Assistive Technology
In 2003, Mosen became the Blindness Product Manager for Pulse Data, now known as HumanWare. In 2006, he joined Freedom Scientific as Vice President for Blindness Hardware Management, remaining in that position until 2013. He still works for Freedom Scientific as Director Blindness Communications. His duties include hosting Freedom Scientific's FSCast podcast and managing their blog.
Mosen's first piece of access technology, in the early 1980s, was an Apple IIe, running Braille Edit from Raised Dot Computing, and a VersaBraille from TSI. He also used the original Keynote device from Pulse Data International in 1986.
Today he uses a Windows computer with JAWS and an iPhone. He does have other devices including the Amazon Echo and the Apple TV. At Mosen Consulting, he has access to many other devices for accessibility testing and training.
When asked what he thought was the greatest technological invention for the blind he responded, "Without a doubt, my answer is braille. Braille is the most priceless gift blind people have ever been given in history. It is our path to literacy. And its story is a parable. Many sighted people tried to slow the adoption of braille, to stop it in its tracks before it had really begun. It just goes to show that the best people to solve the problems and challenges of blind people are blind people ourselves."
Mosen Consulting
On May 1, 2013, Mosen started his own company, Mosen Consulting. The company provides technology training. They sell a variety of books such as iOS Without the Eye and Become an Amadeus Maestro, both written by Mosen. Books by other authors are also available including My Mac Pages, by Anne and Archie Robertson. Mosen Consulting can also work with businesses to make their websites more accessible. They also produce The Blind Side podcast. Visit the website here.
When asked what made him start his own business, Mosen answered:
When I had cause to think about the future, I did a lot of soul-searching to work out what exactly it is that motivates me. What gets me bouncing out of bed every morning feeling good about life? I realized that it's making a difference for blind people. If I can end my day with a clear answer to the question, 'What difference have you made today?' then I feel a sense of fulfillment. The trouble is, I like to make a difference in a variety of ways. I love the entertainment aspect of the radio show I do, and indeed all that Mushroom FM, with its exceptional team of broadcasters, represents. I like to help make sense of technology for people who struggle with it or just have other things to think about, and wants someone else to do all the research for them. I'm a passionate accessibility and disability rights advocate. I want to make the world a more accessible place for blind people. So, I decided, the best way to do that was to start my own company, and do it all. The work is never dull, and there is a wide variety. I love every second of it.
Related articles:
- Aira: Instant Access to Information (Part 2 of 2) by Janet Ingber
- SEE3D: Teenagers Expand the Visual World for People Who Are Blind by Deborah Kendrick
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