Court Reporters: Why relying on audio sync can hurt your career

Connie Psaros, RPR and Vice President of Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., wrote an interesting blog for Prince Institute on the pros and cons of using AudioSync as a new and experienced reporter. 

Ms. Psaros is a working reporter with over 35 years of court reporting experience.  She started reporting long before AudioSync and knows how important it is to fight for every word while on the job.  Back then, she had only her notes to produce a timely and accurate transcript.

As a mentor to many new reporters coming into the profession, she has seen firsthand the cons of young reporters relying on the audio file to produce a transcript. 

Please check out the full article on the Prince Institute Blog.

NO RECORD BROKEN IN THE GUINNESS WORLD RECORD COMPETITION

The six participants who competed in the Guinness World Record Challenge at the National Court Reporters Convention held last week in Nashville failed to break the existing record of 360 words per minute set by Mark Kislingbury in 2004; however, their “failure” did not diminish the high esteem in which they are regarded by their fellow court reporters.  Mark Kislingbury had the best paper.  He transcribed the 370-words-per-minute take and had 22 errors.  He needed no more than 20 errors to break his own 2004 record. 

The entrants deserve special recognition, as their attempt at the world record would not even be contemplated by the vast majority of their peers.  The participants were:  Deanna Boenau, Kathy A. Cortopassi, Diane K. Kraynak, Stanley H. Sakai, Kathryn A. Thomas, and Mark Kislingbury.  

Eight one-minute takes of Q & A material up to 400 words per minute were given.  For some perspective, NCRA’s entry level certification exam, the Registered Professional Reporter, requires reporters to pass a top speed of 225 words per minute of Q & A material with 95 percent accuracy.

In other news, Dana Hayden of Arkansas won the 2013 Speed Contest, and Jo Ann Bryce of Florida won the 2013 Realtime Contest.

Congratulations to all who challenged themselves to achieve new heights!

National Court Reporters Association Convention, August 8-11, 2013

Court reporters from around the country will gather in Nashville, Tennessee, for their annual conference to network, talk about issues affecting our profession, and learn about the latest technology and products.  Sure to be a hot topic this year will be the increasing use of iPads by attorneys to receive realtime feeds and the push by our national association to Take Realtime Awareness and Innovation Nationwide, or TRAIN.

Our most talented writers will also compete to become this year’s National Speed Champion.  To qualify, contestants must write, with at least 95 percent accuracy to qualify, a Q&A leg at 280 wpm, a legal opinion leg at 230 wpm, and a literary leg at 220 wpm.  Another coveted distinction up for grabs is the Realtime trophy where contestants try to write as perfectly as possible straight matter at 220 wpm and two-voice dictation at 225 wpm without the benefit of editing.  Tensions are high as one-tenth of a percentage point can separate the winner from the runner up!

But excitement this year is ratcheted up a notch because six of our profession’s most elite writers will participate in the Guinness World Record Challenge as they try to break the current speed record of 360 words per minute!   There will be eight one-minute Q&A takes of up to 400 words per minute.  WOW!

Aside from the installation of our new officers and board members, another highlight of the convention will be the announcement of NCRA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, which is presented to an individual who has worked tirelessly for the benefit of the reporting profession.  Doris Wong, NCRA’s president in 1980, was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award in 1987.

This year’s convention is particularly noteworthy because Nancy Varallo of The Varallo Group in Worcester, and reporter extraordinaire in her own right, will be sworn in as our president.   Nancy will be the fifth president from Massachusetts.  We are very proud of Nancy and know that she will serve our profession with honor and distinction.  Congratulations, Nancy! 

Shortage of Court Reporters – Interested parties please apply

There is a nationwide shortage of court reporters.  The shortage can be blamed on many factors. 

• Two local schools that have produced graduates most recently – Massachusetts Bay Community College and Springfield Technical College – have discontinued their programs.  As of this time there are no accredited schools in New England teaching court and conference reporting! 

• Part of the reason for the closure of the Massachusetts schools was the low graduation rate, approximately ten percent.  Training is very intense and the attrition rate is very high.  Of those students who did graduate, most completed the two-year program in three or more years.  When the programs were not graduating reporters in sufficient numbers in a timely manner, the programs were dropped from the curriculum.

• The threat of replacing court reporters with tape recorders may have dissuaded prospective students from entering the field as well.  It didn’t seem prudent to invest in a career that may not be around for the long term.  Despite the fact that court reporters who write on computerized machines are the superior method of producing verbatim transcripts, our profession still suffers from the misconception that tape recorders are adequate replacements.

• Retirement will also thin the ranks of those in the profession, adding to the existing shortage. 

The shortage of court reporters has been felt not only in the freelance and official (courtroom) arenas but mostly in the broadcast captioning and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) areas.  Broadcast captioning has applications in television, conferences, and places of worship, to name a few.  CART allows for deaf or hearing-impaired students to have access to lectures in a classroom setting through a reporter who is assigned to a particular student.

It is now a priority of the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) to encourage more young people to get into this profession to ensure that there is an adequate supply of talent to take us into the future.  The judicial system and by extension the general public relies on the valuable services provided by court reporters whose numbers have shrunk to approximately 20,000 nationwide. 

According to the Bureau of Labor, the job outlook states:  

“Employment of court reporters is expected to grow by 14 percent from 2010 to 2020, as fast as the average for all occupations. Those with experience and training in techniques for helping deaf and hard-of-hearing people, such as real-time captioning and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART), will have the best job prospects.” http://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/court-reporters.htm 

If you’re looking for an exciting career in the legal field, become a professional court reporter.  You will be charged with taking down verbatim testimony and producing a certified record of the proceedings.  Technological developments allow court reporters to provide computer-aided transcription, interactive realtime, and litigation support products in various formats.  Your unique skill will earn you the respect of the legal community, and you will be making a valuable contribution to the justice system.

Court reporting is an exciting profession.  No day is the same.  The cast of characters constantly changes.  You can travel the world covering different assignments.  One day you can be reporting a messy divorce; the next you could be reporting the James “Whitey” Bulger case.

Call us if you’d like more information about court reporting.  Even better, if you are a certified court reporter and would like to join our busy office, we have an opening for you.

The Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., Advantage

EXPERTISE

Our reporters hone their reporting skills on a daily basis to meet any challenge.  No other method of capturing the spoken word has proven superior to the live reporter.  We can proudly say that ALL of our reporters are certified by our state and/or national organizations.

EDUCATION

Our reporters take part in continuing education programs to keep abreast of the latest trends in our profession and the newest technologies for your benefit and convenience; and they continually strive, through rigorous testing, to earn our profession’s most coveted credentials.

EXPERIENCE

Our reporters have a combined total of over 300 years’ experience in reporting all types of proceedings in numerous settings.  We have had the privilege of reporting the testimony of thousands of witnesses, and we take great pride in playing a vital role in the judicial process.

Call Doris O. Wong Associates, Inc., when expertise, education, and experience matter.  

www.doriswong.com

scheduling@doriswong.com

Don’t Be Left Behind - Catch the TRAIN!

Members of the Massachusetts Court Reporters Association met in Worcester on April 6, 2013, for their spring seminar.  The highlight of the conference was learning about TRAIN, our National Court Reporters Association’s initiative to Take Realtime Awareness and Innovation Nationwide.

Many reporters write realtime for themselves, but the push is on for them to transition to providing realtime for attorneys at every deposition or hearing.  This involves writing with a minimum of 97% accuracy, having software and hardware that allows you to send files serially or wirelessly, and for greater success in promoting realtime, purchasing iPads or netbooks for counsel.  Stenocast (serial wireless) and CVNet with a Linksys router, MiFi or Connectify are the preferred wireless routers used by court reporters.  Stenocast allows you to send wirelessly to many different interactive realtime products such as CaseViewNet, LiveNote, Summation and Visionary.  CVNet can be sent to CaseViewNet only but has Instant Refresh.  As the reporter edits the transcript during the day, counsel sees the benefit of those corrections. Reporters also have a serial connection option, if needed.  

Only professional court reporters can provide instantaneous realtime to counsel.  Reporters who provide this service, along with accompanying rough drafts at the end of the day, are the best this profession has to offer.  Since this is a premium service, reporters who deliver this service have the potential to increase their income above the usual transcript sales.

Massachusetts is currently at the forefront in moving this effort forward.  There are TRAIN groups in Boston, the North Shore, and in the western part of the state.  A new group will be starting up soon on the South Shore.  This seminar gave those in attendance a taste of what joining a TRAIN group would be like through a rotation of four mini-sessions covering different but related topics.

Members owe a debt of gratitude to Jill Shepherd, Jodi Ohnemus, Sue Garvin, Kathy Silva, and NCRA Speed Champion Ed Varallo for their time and effort, advice and encouragement during the TRAIN seminar.  They gave brief tutorials on what equipment to buy, how to set up, how to provide the cleanest roughs possible, and how write “short” for better translation rates and less wear and tear on the hands.

The Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (STAR) is another wonderful resource for those reporters who want to move forward and invest in their career.  Their emphasis is always on the latest technology and is suitable for reporters at all levels.