Q: What do
the terms court reporting, realtime reporting, and captioning mean?
A: Court
Reporting is the art and skill of taking down in shorthand what is said during
a particular proceeding and then transcribing it into written form. Court
reporting is a generic term that also includes many other job opportunities for
the person trained in the skill of taking verbatim dictation and transcribing
it.
Realtime reporting is used to produce an
immediate transcript of proceedings by using a steno writer connected to a
computer. Realtime reporting takes
place in a variety of situations including court and deposition work as well as
closed captioning.
Captioning is the immediate translation of
what is being said onto a television monitor for viewing of the words by the
hearing impaired. The closed captioned
words appear at the bottom of the television set, usually two lines at a
time. As a person speaks, the lines
change to reflect what is being said.
Q: How
does a reporter or captioner take down what is being said?
A: Most
court reporters use a shorthand machine called a steno machine. This steno
machine has 24 keys and a number bar. When the keys are depressed, they produce
English letters on a continuous-feeding paper tape. Some steno machines also
record the letters electronically onto a disk or a microchip for immediate or
later translation by computer.
Q: How
does a court reporter translate what is written on the paper tape or disk?
A: There
are three methods of transcription:
1) Reporters can translate their own notes,
either by dictating them for someone else to type them on a keyboard, or the
court reporter can key the notes themselves.
CAT and realtime are replacing this method of transcription.
2) Reporters can use a computer to translate
the notes automatically, and then edit the notes before final printing; this is
known as CAT or computer-aided transcription.
3) Reporters can have their notes instantly
translated onto a computer monitor by using a specialized software dictionary
that recognizes the notes that the reporter has written. This method is known
as realtime writing.
Q: How
are words written on the steno machine?
A: Words
are written by sound, syllable, and spelling. For example, if you were to write
the word "cat" on a typewriter or regular computer keyboard, you
could write the "c," then the "a," then the "t,"
a three-step process. On the steno machine, you would write "KAT" all
in one stroke. The stroke "KAT" would translate as "cat."
Q: How is
the steno keyboard arranged?
A: The
arrangement of the steno keyboard looks like this:
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S |
T |
P |
H |
* |
F |
P |
L |
T |
D |
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S |
K |
W |
R |
* |
R |
B |
G |
S |
Z |
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A |
O |
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E |
U |
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Q: Why
does the keyboard look so strange?
A: The
keyboard is arranged into three sections. The left section writes only initial
sounds of words, the right section writes only final sounds of words, and the
bottom-middle section writes all vowel sounds between the beginning and final
sides. That is why you are able to write "KAT" in one stroke.
Q: What
about the letters that are not on the keyboard, how do you write those?
A: Combinations
of letters are used to represent those letters that are not on the keyboard.
That is why the system is called "shorthand," because various
shortcuts are used to write letters or words. For example, you notice there is
no vowel "I" present on the keyboard. The combination E and U
together is used for the vowel "I".
Q: What
about the numbers, how are they written?
A: The
numbers are written by striking certain letters along with a number bar that is
located above the upper bank of keys. Shortcuts are also used to write certain
numbers.
Q: Does the
term court reporting mean that reporters only work in a courtroom setting?
A: No.
Court/realtime reporters and captioners are divided into three categories as
follows:
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTERS - Those who work in a courtroom setting or do reporting
for governmental agencies. Examples of
official court reporting include Supreme Court, county or family court, hearing
reporters, and special courts or agencies of the local, state, or federal
government.
FREELANCE REPORTERS - Those who work for a freelance agency or are self-employed.
Their work varies from day to day. One day they may be doing hearings for
school boards or zoning commissions, the next day they may be doing depositions
for lawyers. Sometimes freelance
reporters will be hired by courts to do official reporting on a temporary
basis.
CAPTION REPORTING and CART - Those who are employed to produce an instant record on
a video screen or television monitor.
Captioners work in a variety of situations including broadcast report
for television stations, web/Internet reporting for private businesses,
classroom reporting for hearing impaired students, and CART. CART stands for Communication Access
Realtime Translation and is a service offered by captioning reporters who are
trained in the special needs of the hearing impaired.
In addition, any reporter who uses realtime
technology in any situation is referred to as a REALTIME REPORTER.
Q: What
other jobs are available for someone trained in court and realtime reporting?
A: There
are many new opportunities for people who have the skill of writing words in
shorthand and having their notes transcribed instantly by a computer. Medical
transcriptionists use the field of “rapid text input” because it is quicker
than typing from dictated notes. Any business, education setting, industry, or
service that requires fast input and transcription can use the skills of a realtime
writer.
Q: How
long does it usually take to become a court reporter?
A: That
depends on a lot of factors. If you attend a school that teaches you how to be
a court reporter, you can expect to be in class a minimum of two years, full
time, but it may take longer. If you attend a proprietary school on a part-time
basis, it will probably take you longer, between two and four years. Some
people find that they have a natural talent for writing on a shorthand machine
and can learn the theory much quicker. Others may find that it takes them a longer
period of time to comprehend the theory, learn the shortcuts, practice, study
and learn the other materials. Statistically, about 1/3 of the students who
complete court reporting programs take at least two years while about 2/3 take
more than two years.
Q: What
about the dropout rate? How many people finish the program after starting it?
A: The
statistics vary, but, roughly about 1/3 or less actually finish the program,
another 1/3 transfer to other related fields, and the other 1/3 drop out
completely.
Q: Why
does it take so long to become a court reporter?
A: There
are many reasons, but probably the main two reasons are, first, you are
learning a skill, the skill of writing accurately on a steno machine. Like any
skill, this takes time to develop. Secondly, you may be required to learn other
subjects other than shorthand. For example, schools approved by the National
Court Reporters Association require that students also learn English, medical
and legal terminology, court and legal procedures, computer aided
transcription, and other subjects, including an internship program.
Q: How
much does schooling cost to become a court reporter?
A: That
answer is not easy. It depends on many different things, such as:
The best advice is to ask how much tuition,
board, and books will cost at a school that you are interested in and then add
in any of the items mentioned above.
Q: Where
can I find a school that teaches court reporting?
A: A list
of schools that are approved by the National Court Reporters Association can be
found on the Internet at the following address: verbatimreporters.com
Q:
I heard that tape recorders were going to replace court reporters. Is
this true?
A: No. While tape recorders do a fine job of
recording music or "canned" speeches, it has been found that live
recording is best done by a live court reporter. The reason for this is that
tape recorders pick up the voices, but also any other sounds that may go
unnoticed. For example, when someone turns on an air conditioner, when a truck
drives by a window, when a chair scrapes across the floor. These are referred
to as "inaudibles," which simply means that what was said is not
transcribable. The live court reporter can stop people when their voices trail
off, ask people to repeat what they said, and have control over how many people
speak at one time.
A great many studies have been done and the
ultimate conclusion is that the best technology for the money is the live court
reporter, coupled with the computer to produce an accurate, reliable, speedy
transcript.
Q: What
about video recorders? Aren't video/audio tape recorders used to take
depositions?
A: Yes.
You will read where doctors, expert witnesses, and even Presidents of the
United States, may testify at a deposition by video recorder. The video
recorder works fine. But the fact is that, along with the video record, there
is a written record being made by a live court reporter. Most court reporting
firms will offer video recording as a service. Video recording enhances what is
called "litigation support," those ancillary services offered to
lawyers by reporting firms. In short, there is a time and a place for the video
and audio record and a time and place for a written record.
The video/audio record cannot be used in all
cases. For example, in long trials like the recent O. J. Simpson trial, it
would be tedious and boring for someone to sit through weeks and weeks of video
in order to look at the record. Statistics have shown that it is much easier to
read the written record. Statistics have also shown that the attention span of
most people while watching video is less than 30 minutes.
Modern technological advances have now made it
possible for realtime writers to have one split screen on a monitor showing the
witness talking on one side, the attorney asking the questions on another
portion of the screen, and the instant written record appearing in another
window. This has many advantages including an instant transcript, instant
search throughout the transcript for key words or read-back of a witnesses'
testimony, and aid for the hearing impaired.
Q: What about
voice recognition and voice writers?
A: Voice
recognition has not proven successful in the field of court/realtime reporting
and captioning because of the problems with different dialects and speech
patterns. In addition, outside noises
sometimes compete with the spoke voice.
Voice writers are people who talk into a “mask,” repeating everything
that is said by a speaker. As he voice
writer talks, the words are instantly translated using realtime
technology. Voice writing has not proven as successful as the court/realtime
reporter and captioner using modern, up-to-date technology.
Q: Where
can I get further information?
A: Contact
a court reporter and ask them about the exciting career of court reporting, or
contact the National Court Reporters Association at verbatimreporters.com or ncraonline.com
Revised 10/2002 by Robert W. McCormick