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Turn the light on, so I can hear what you're saying. It's an old line, but a favourite one among us hearing-impaired people, because it points up how we "hear" with our eyes as surely as blind people "see" with their fingers or their ears.

Some Television New Zealand news bulletins are to be subtitled for hard-of-hearing viewers, but no titles are planned for TV3 news.

People who can hear as well as see 'Reasonable Doubts' (TV3, 9.50pm Saturdays) might be surprised to learn that Deaf New Zealanders can understand deaf lawyer Tessa Kaufman’s sign language little better than they can. ASL, used by Deaf actor Marlee Matlin, is a foreign language here. My Deaf friends give it the thumbs up. But the failure of television in New Zealand to provide anything in NZSL is described as “a running sore” by Hilary McCormack.

Television New Zealand has begun experimental transmission aimed at introducing a new service which will improve viewing enjoyment for the hard of hearing. Called Teletext, it is intended for daily transmission by next year.

For most of the week, the deaf in New Zealand are shut off from the television communication the rest of us take for granted. But for half an hour each Sunday, they can join the rest of the world, through a special programme called News Review.

Many obstacles, including their deafness, are getting in the way of a planned study to the United States and Britain for Angela and Shelia.

Deaf and hearing-impaired Kiwis are about to get a lot more choice in what they watch on television thanks to closed captioning being introduced on 10 new channels.

TVNZ says that several hundred pages of detailed information can be made available and rapidly selected by the viewer. The information ranges from frequently updated news and weather, both national and regional, to travel and consumer and social services media.