Yahoo Finance Why is stenographic court reporting the gold standard?
NCRA President says stenographic court reporters and captioners are technology
Reston, Va., Feb. 01, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RESTON, Va., Feb. 1, 2023 — Feb. 4-11 marks the 11th National Court Reporting & Captioning Week sponsored by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers. The week is designed to increase the public’s awareness about this viable career choice that offers great benefits and does not require a four-year degree. It also presents the perfect opportunity to educate the public and members of the legal profession about why a live stenographic court reporter can provide the highest quality and most accurate record of courtroom proceedings.
“The proceedings are only as good as their accurate rendition, whether we are providing a record or access. That’s why we are important,” says NCRA President Jason T. Meadors, FAPR, RPR, CRR, CRC, a freelance court reporter and firm owner from Fort Collins, Colo.
“It’s frustrating to hear, ‘Why not use technology?’ Reporters and captioners are technology and perform in ways that other technologies cannot match,” he adds.
Court reporters and captioners rely on the latest in technology to use stenographic machines to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real time. These professionals work both in and out of the courtroom recording legal cases and depositions, providing live captioning of events, and assisting members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities with gaining access to information, entertainment, educational opportunities, and more.
“We are here to provide a service is much too simplistic a line to generalize what we do. It is beyond a service. It is a sacred duty. Whether we work as captioners, reporters, or legal videographers, society generally and people specifically place a level of trust in us that is as enduring as it is profound,” Meadors says.
“We take that trust and live up to it with the importance it demands. The people reviewing our record, whether they are people needing access to the hearing world, paralegals and lawyers preparing for settlement or trial, an attorney sweating over an appeal brief, or an appellate court that has to know precisely what was said to provide a precise analysis, depend completely on our skills, our precision, our work ethic, and our professionalism to do what is right by the people affected and the goals of fairness and justice for us all,” he notes.
“However ordinary the issues seem, the people here, your client and the other party, are fully invested, financially, emotionally, and every other way. This is very important to them, and I play an important role in that,” Meadors says he once told an attorney who asked if he ever got bored during proceedings. “The trial is only as good as the record of trial, and they deserve the best record they can get. I’m here to provide that,” he adds.
The court reporting and captioning professions offer viable career choices that do not require a four-year college degree and yet offer good salaries, flexible schedules, and interesting venues. There is currently an increasing demand for more reporters and captioners to meet the growing number of employment opportunities available nationwide and abroad.
For those considering a career in stenographic court reporting or captioning, NCRA offers the
A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program, a free six week program that provides the perfect opportunity for potential students to learn the alphabet in steno, write on a real machine, and decide if pursuing an education in court reporting or captioning is the right choice.
To arrange an interview with a working court reporter or captioner, or to learn more about the lucrative and flexible court reporting or captioning professions and the many job opportunities currently available, contact pr@ncra.org.
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has been internationally recognized for promoting excellence among those who capture and convert the spoken word to text for more than 100 years. NCRA is committed to supporting its more than 12,000 members in achieving the highest level of professional expertise with educational opportunities and industry-recognized court reporting, educator, and videographer certification programs. NCRA impacts legislative issues and the global marketplace through its actively involved membership.
Forbes has named court reporting as one of the best career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the court reporting field is expected to be one of the fastest areas of projected employment growth across all occupations. According to 247/WallSt.com, the court reporting profession ranks sixth out of 25 careers with the lowest unemployment rate, just 0.7 percent. Career information about the court reporting profession—one of the leading career options that do not require a traditional four-year degree—can be found at NCRA DiscoverSteno.org.
CONTACT: Annemarie Roketenetz National Court Reporters Association 703 969 6363 aroketenetz@ncra.org
