Reporting . . . An IT Profession With Numerous Career Paths
- Options in this career field include: Judicial Reporting, Broadcast Captioning, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) Reporting and Realtime Reporting, to the Internet/ Webcasting. The foundation for all these careers is capturing and converting the spoken word into information bases and readable formats.
- The technology that reporters use is called realtime, which allows reporters to instantly convert their stenographic notes into readable English text. The text is then displayed on computer monitors or large projection screens. Realtime reporting is the only current method for actual voice-to-text translation.
- Earning potential for the reporting IT profession is significant because there is high demand and the field includes opportunities for overtime compensation.
- Average income for:
- Judicial reporters, who are commonly known as official or freelance reporters and work in court or in depositions, is $62,000;
- Broadcast captioners, who work for television stations or captioning companies, ranges from $35,000 to $75,000+, with opportunities for overtime depending on whether the captioner is on staff or works as an outside contractor;
- CART reporters, who supply communication access services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, is between $35,000 and $65,000; and,
- Internet information reporters, who remotely caption to the Internet or provide Webcasting services, are usually paid at an hourly rate of $100-$200 per hour.
- There are approximately 50,000 to 60,000 judicial, broadcast captioning, CART and Internet information reporters in the United States.
- The U.S. Department of Labor projects that reporting job opportunities will grow as fast as the average for all occupations through 2010.
- About 27% of the judicial reporters in the U.S. actually work in court. Most of the rest are hired by attorneys to report depositions of potential trial witnesses.
- Federal rules require captioning of hundreds of hours of live television programming each week, creating a surge in career opportunities for broadcast captioners. The demand for jobs in broadcast captioning is expected to triple by 2006.
- 64% of reporters are between the ages of 25-44.
- To practice in the field, reporters earn either an associate's or bachelor's degree. In addition, they actively participate in continuing education programs and pass stringent certification tests of skill and knowledge, nationally or locally.
- Internet Information Reporters cybercasted the "man against machine" chess match of IBM's Big Blue vs. Kasparov.
- CART reporters have taken their skills to Broadway, giving people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing access to such productions as Barrymore and Phantom of the Opera.
- Broadcast captioners enabled deaf and hard-of-hearing television viewers to follow breaking news coverage of the events of September 11th.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAREERS FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
Judicial reporters are at the center of the most controversial cases - preserving history in the Gore vs. Bush election hearings, Bosnian War Crimes Trials, Firestone depositions, the Microsoft antitrust trial, and the trials of Timothy McVeigh and O.J. Simpson - providing transcripts not only to the judge and counsel but also to the international media in hard-copy format or by posting to the Internet.
The role of reporters continues to evolve from serving as information managers in complicated trials, to capturing depositions and business proceedings in digital format, to assisting millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing persons through advanced captioning technology.
The World Series, Academy Awards, weddings, doctor's offices, football games, classrooms, churches, television stations . . . these are the new domains for the professionals who formerly worked primarily in the courtroom or deposition suite. Reporters now pursue careers in:
Broadcast Captioning
Because of their skill with stenotype machines and computers, specially trained realtime reporters are in huge demand to provide captioning for live television broadcasts. This service is called realtime captioning and primarily benefits the 28 million Americans who are deaf or hard-of-hearing by allowing them to follow news broadcasts, sporting events and other television programming. This service is especially valuable in an emergency; for example, during tornado or hurricane warnings, or as most recently seen when broadcast captioners provided crucial captioning services for television viewers during the tragic events of September 11th.
The surge in demand stems from requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that regulate closed captioning. The Federal Communications Commission has ruled that 100% of all new television programming must be captioned by January 1, 2006. To accommodate this demand, captioning companies and broadcasters will need qualified reporters to caption tens of thousands of hours of live programming every week.
CART Reporters
A version of the captioning process allows reporters to provide more personalized services for deaf and hard-of-hearing people through Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART). Reporters work with hard-of-hearing students and people who are learning English as a second language, captioning high school and college classes as well as providing transcripts at the end of the sessions.
However, the classroom is only one environment where the skills of a CART reporter are put to use. CART reporters accompany deaf clients as needed - for example, to conventions, business meetings, doctor appointments, workshops, wherever communication access is needed - to provide an instant conversion of speech into text using the judicial reporter's stenotype machine linked to a laptop computer. And more and more, CART reporters are providing this critical service remotely, as an Internet or phone connection allows for immediate communication access regardless of location. Reporting agencies that specialize in this service cannot meet the demand.
Webcasting and Reporting to the Internet
Reporters are capturing sales meetings, press conferences, product introductions and technical training seminars and instantly transmitting them to all parties involved via computers. As participants speak into telephones or microphones, the words appear on everyone's computers, accompanied by any relevant documents or graphics.
Unlike speech recognition systems that have high error rates and are unable to differentiate between multiple speakers, reporters write accurately at speeds in excess of 200 words per minute. In addition, their technology enables participants to receive text via the Internet, an online service or their own Intranet, all without any special hardware.
RELATED REPORTING CAREERS
In addition to the IT careers for those with realtime skills, there are several options for persons who obtain basic reporting training and proficiency:
Scopists
Judicial reporters utilize scopists to edit and proofread transcripts while the reporters work in court or take a deposition. A scopist electronically receives a rough copy of a proceeding, checks for any "mistranslates," or terms that were not in the reporter's computer dictionary, makes any necessary edits, ensures the transcript is in the requested format and sends the edited and proofread transcript back to the reporter for a final review.
Information Reporting/Rapid Data Entry
Hospitals, insurance companies and many other businesses have mounds of data that need to be entered into their computer systems. Using the stenotype for word processing is significantly faster than normal typing. While very fast typists can input text at about 100 words per minute, persons trained as court reporters can input text much more quickly - 200 words per minute and faster.
Some schools provide students with incentive programs that allow them to practice their skills while earning money to pay for their education. The program, nicknamed "earn and learn," benefits all involved: Corporations can increase word-processing efficiency by 300-400%; students improve skills, earn money to pay for school and improve their chances of graduation.
Medical/Legal Transcription
Transcriptionists specialize in medical or legal language and related documentation and interpret and transcribe dictation by physicians, lawyers or other healthcare and legal professionals. In a legal setting, they transcribe such audio recordings as initial client meetings, instructions for written documents such as contracts, wills and trusts, motions to be researched by paralegals or letters to co-counsel or opposing parties. In a medical setting, they typically transcribe audio dictations regarding patient assessment, workup, therapeutic procedures, clinical course, diagnosis, prognosis, etc. In both settings transcriptionists may edit dictated material for grammar and clarity as necessary and appropriate. Persons with basic judicial reporter skills and a Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT) system can transcribe and enter the material at speeds up to 225 words per minute.
A PROJECTED STUDENT PROFILE
Reporting careers require from two to four years of technical training. Over 100 private and community colleges and universities across the country offer an associate's and/or bachelor's degree in reporting. Many of these schools are introducing a distance learning option that allows students to obtain their education wherever they live in the U.S. And more and more are offering specialized tracks in broadcast captioning and CART reporting. Students must be able to meet deadlines, work well under pressure and concentrate for long periods of time. The most essential skill taught to reporting students is machine shorthand. Once a student has mastered the basics of machine shorthand, he or she will concentrate on building speed and accuracy. To graduate, students typically need to perform machine shorthand at a speed of at least 225 words per minute. Many jurisdictions require reporters to pass certification examinations that test written knowledge as well as speed and accuracy.
Some of the coursework students typically study includes civil and criminal law, English, grammar, stenographic theory, legal and business terminology, anatomy, medical and forensic terminology, computer technology, business management and judicial procedures.
AVERAGE SALARIES
Income varies according to the area in which a person lives, the kinds of reporting jobs and experience of individual reporters. Earning potential is often increased by the amount of time reporters are willing to work. In addition to the salaries for the reporting career paths listed previously, income for scopists ranges from $12,000 for part-time entry-level scopists, with experienced scopists earning upwards of $30,000-40,000. Entry-level transcriptionist wages range from $10 to $16 per hour, with additional compensation as the transcriptionist becomes more experienced and works at more advanced levels.
TECHNOLOGY
Reporters use the term CAT, or Computer-Aided Transcription, to describe the technology that electronically links a stenotype machine to a computer. Stenographic symbols are recorded digitally and on paper. A computer program then translates the stenotype notes into English text that can be researched, corrected, telecommunicated, stored on CD?ROM or other computer media, integrated with a videotape - or simply printed out in a conventional or condensed?format transcript.
Many reporters are taking their skills and technology to another level by offering realtime display of proceedings. Realtime can be expanded to include systems that convert spoken testimony into printed text or into captioned video for deaf or hard-of-hearing persons, and into Braille or enhanced sound for persons who are blind or have vision loss. This helps the courts meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Computerized reporting technology has brought reporters to NFL football games, the Olympics, PGA golf tournaments and numerous entertainment award ceremonies to provide realtime captioning. The demand for this computerized technology has also taken American-trained reporters to Europe, Bermuda, Australia and elsewhere to provide their services in the legal, broadcast, business and academic settings.