Radio Information Service, the 33-year-old reading service for the blind, is deep in debt and will cease to operate as a nonprofit organization as of Aug. 14.

However, WDUQ-FM will continue providing some of its services, such as the reading of local newspapers, shopping guides and traffic reports by volunteers.

Officials of both entities said they hoped to limit the impact on listeners as much as possible. The RIS board is considering whether to dissolve, said President Andy Ai.

In an attempt to cut costs, RIS entered a management agreement with WDUQ in 2004 and relocated to WDUQ's headquarters at Duquesne University. The move saved RIS about $60,000 of its $250,000 annual budget, and also reduced administrative overhead. In mid-June, the organization laid off its executive director.

Nevertheless, RIS currently owes tens of thousands of dollars to WDUQ. Mr. Ai said the board doesn't believe it can raise the money in this economic climate.

The decision means all four RIS employees will lose their jobs -- their salary and benefits accounted for most of the budget. It also means that the station's 800 clients, who get the signal through a special radio, will receive more national feeds and less locally produced programming.

Scott Hanley, general manager of WDUQ, stressed that RIS's other distribution avenues -- the Internet, dial-in and Comcast cable -- will continue along with the broadcasting.

"The service itself will be diminished but will still be on 24 hours a day," he said. "There will be less live reading, but the volunteers will still be involved."

Mr. Ai said WDUQ will take ownership of all RIS equipment as partial repayment of the debt.

Some 200 RIS volunteers received an e-mail on Monday, saying the group "will cease operations as an active organization," and that "services will continue in a limited fashion under WDUQ." The message was signed by Mr. Ai and Mr. Hanley.

RIS has been struggling since 2001, when its state allocation was eliminated. Clients are supposed to pay $40 a year to rent their radios, but Mr. Ai said many are in nursing homes and hospitals, and most don't pay anything.

"We felt it was important for our listeners to get the information even if they couldn't afford the listener fee, so we gave away the radios," he said. In the past, various companies donated money to sponsor listeners, but he said that was hit or miss over the years.

"We've always found ways to pull back from the brink, but this time the economy and funding environment has forced us into this course of action," he said.

Mr. Hanley said WDUQ was committed to continuing things of special interest to the local community, such as the Inner Visions show for people with disabilities, and reading the Post-Gazette, New Pittsburgh Courier, Jewish Chronicle and Pittsburgh Catholic. Still, he said, "It'll be a shoestring operation even more than it was before,

"Reading books that aren't available from the National Library for the Blind, we don't have the resources to keep that going," he said.

Loyal users of the service said they rely on it every day.

"I use it a lot for my news in the mornings," said Irving Wender, 94, of Squirrel Hill, a retired research professor who lost his sight 18 months ago.

He said he made contributions to the organization and attended its fundraising lunch last year, and that he especially enjoys the Sunday discussions of finance and the general political world.

"I would miss it a good deal if was gone," he said.