Broadcast Captioning

There are an estimated 28 million deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals in the United States.  Specially trained court reporters use a combination of technology and what is known as “realtime translation” to provide captions of live television programs such as news, emergency broadcasts, sports events, the Oscars and the Emmys, for the deaf or hard of hearing.  Essentially, the reporter uses the stenowriter to record and transcribe—live—what is being said on television.  Hence the “real-time” moniker.  This specialized reporter is increasingly in demand, as the Federal Communications Commission has required that by 2006 all new TV programming must be captioned.