Court Reporter Schools

 

               

 

What is court reporting? Court reporting is the verbatim transcription of speech into written form, in order to preserve the record and to produce certified transcripts of court hearings, depositions, and other official proceedings.  Those with court reporting skills are not limited to the courtroom, however.  Court reporting skills are also necessary for jobs in broadcast captioning for television and other media formats, as well as real-time reporting for webcasts.  Though the primary skills of court reporting are the same for various jobs, court reporting schools do offer specialized training for specific areas, such as broadcast captioning, judicial court reporting, CART reporting, and webcasting.
 
Broadcast captioning, also referred to as “closed-captioning,” is the process through which the audio track of television and other media programs is transcribed into text, which is usually displayed at the bottom of the viewing screen.  Many court reporting schools offer specialized training in broadcast captioning, in addition to the general court reporting courses offered.  Court reporting students focusing on broadcast captioning are taught to use real-time technology to produce the television broadcasts closed-captioning text to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing, who are located in noisy environments, and who are learning English as a second language.  Broadcast captioning is essential for these groups of people to effectively watch the news or even emergency broadcasts which may be announcing possible life-or-death situations.  The Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) estimates that over 100 million Americans per year utilize closed-captioning.  People skilled in broadcast captioning will always be in demand.
 
Judicial court reporting school offers training in the use of a stenotype machine to transcribe court proceedings.  The stenotype machine is based on phonetic shorthand, which essentially enables the court reporter to transcribe words as they sound, as opposed to spelling them out one letter at a time as is done with regular typing on a computer keyboard.  The court reporter strokes a set of keys for the spoken words, which are instantly translated by a court reporting software program into English text.  Judicial court reporting is a dynamic career field for someone with court reporting skills.  Though the majority of court reporters are freelancers who take depositions, judicial court reporters make up about 27% of those working in the legal field.
 
Court reporting training with a focus on Communication Access Realtime Translation, or CART, is another option that is available from many court reporting schools.  As with other types of court reporting, the National Court Reporters Association is also concerned with the quality of the work done by CART providers, prompting the formation of the CART Community of Interest Committee.  A set of guidelines has been issued by the committee, which establishes the accepted standards for style and formatting for providing CART services.  Also referred to as “realtime captioning” or “live-event captioning,” CART is a service provided by a stenographer who uses a specialized court reporting software to transcribe spoken English into a readable format.  That text is displayed on a monitor to assist the deaf and hard of hearing, as well as those learning English as a second language.  CART reporters are often independent contractors and find employment at conferences, seminars, religious services, conventions, classrooms, and other places where large groups of people are assembled.  Because of the importance of accuracy as a CART provider, the NCRA offers the Certified CART Provider (CCP) certification.
 
An emphasis in webcasting training is another option at many court reporting schools.  The same basic skills of court reporting are required for webcasting, though the court reporter performing webcasting services is generally not in a legal setting.  Webcasting services are commonly performed for such gatherings as press conferences, product introductions, sales meetings, and training seminars.  The webcasting process involves the court reporter’s transcribing of the audible conversations and transmitting of them to the meeting participants via computer, so that all of the parties can read on their computers the various conversations taking place.  Webcasting is an increasingly popular way of doing business these days, and stenographers with webcast reporting skills are in increased demand.
 
What type of court reporting school is right for you?  While there are certainly lots of options available, the ultimate decision must be based on preference.  All of the different types of court reporting work can be interesting and rewarding.  Depending on what your interests are, the path you choose as a court reporter can lead you to a great career.  Skilled court reporters are always in demand, and upon completion of training, many court reporting schools offer job placement assistance, if necessary.  Discover court reporting training schools located near you or online and begin one of the great careers available in court reporting.