Broadcast Captioning

Broadcast Captioning

If you’ve ever watched closed captioning, you may have wondered exactly how it
works. Are the words appearing at the bottom of the screen preprogrammed? What
about live events and newscasts? By definition, closed-captioning for a live event
can’t be programmed ahead of time. The answer to this mysterious question lies in
broadcast captioning reporters, also known as captioners. Broadcast captioning
reporters use their realtime translation skills and essential computer programs to
create the words we see crawling at the bottom of the screen.

Captioners are needed now more than ever. In 1996, Congress passed the
Telecommunications Act, which stated that all new television programming had to be
closed-captioned by 2006. This required that hundreds of hours of live television be
closed-captioned each week. These days, everything from sporting events and
children’s programming to national news and sitcoms are closed-captioned so that
the deaf and hard-of-hearing can better enjoy the same benefits that the rest of us
do.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was essential due to the fact that there are
about thirty million people in the US alone that are deaf and hard-of-hearing. As
most of them rely on television to get their news, it is imperative that a way be
provided for them to be able to receive news of impending weather disasters,
national alerts, localized dangers such as gas leaks or fires, and terrorist attacks.

It has been estimated that over one hundred million people a year use
closed-captioning in the US. This audience includes not only the deaf and
hard-of-hearing, but also those watching television in a noisy location, such as a
bar, club or sporting event, or those for whom English is not a first language. As we
all know, there is an abundance of people in the United States still attempting to
learn English—thirty million of them in fact—and closed-captioning is an invaluable
tool for them in trying to learn the language.

Closed-captioning also allows those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to participate in
civic events such as city council meetings and the like. Even beyond that, those
requiring closed-captioning can use the service to follow Congressional sessions on
CSPAN or presidential addresses. US citizens who are deaf or hard-of-hearing have
the same rights as everyone else when it comes to participation in their government
and it’s up to captioners to make that possible. You may be interested to learn this
has eveloved to a form of reporting called webcasting.

At the end of the day, broadcast captioning is an essential and commendable career
choice. Not only do captioners allow the deaf and hard-of-hearing to better enjoy
their favorite television shows, but to also receive important news and emergency
alerts. Captioners also provide a way in which those learning English can use
television to better learn English and become better integrated into American
society. In a way, closed-captioning helps bring all of us together as a society. If
you are looking for a way to improve others’ lives and are considering going to
training in court reporting schools, broadcast captioning may just be the right career
choice for you.