Strange situation outside of the Southern District NY Bankruptcy Court yesterday as the unions send hundreds of American Airlines employees to protest against American’s planned cutbacks.

I’m all for Armies of Davids and Davidettes raising their voices in protest but – regardless of the actual issue – I’ve always found it unsavory to hold rallies outside a court of law.  Once an issue has made it to court shouldn’t it be heard in an unbiased manner?  And what do the protesters hope to accomplish anyway?  Isn’t their presence there an indication that they think that there is at least a chance that they can influence justice with their numbers and voices?  I’d love to hear the InstaPundit’s take on this!

… because it can turn Mitt Romney into Ronald Reagan, of course!

(and that’s why we prefer well-trained and professional human beings for our transcription work!)

Too seriously, perhaps?

From a recent transcript produced in Vermont comes one of our all-time favorite exchanges:

Q.  And would it be fair to say that on the 21st day of April, being three weeks or two weeks after this happened, your mind was clearer with the details than it is today?

A.  Due to — I smoke so much pot I can’t remember anything.

Q.  Okay.

A.  All right?  So — so I told — I told you this on the phone.  My — my statements aren’t going to be credible.  You know what I’m saying?  They’re not.

Q.  So let me ask you this question, then, Mr. X .

A.  My memory is junk.  I don’t remember anything about that night except what I just told you.

Well, at least he’s honest!

A terrible story is unfolding in Florida.  You can read all about it here.  It’s hard to be reserved in commenting on a story in which, apparently, the owner of a reporting firm has not paid her server fees and because of that there could be people incarcerated unnecessarily.  We generally prefer to reserve judgement until all the facts are in, though in this particular case the firm owner has had ample opportunity to have her day in Court and has elected not to show up.  Shame!

This is as good an opportunity as any to advocate for high standards in the industry.  We are very proud of the AAERT certification and what it means for our certified transcribers.  Perhaps it’s time to develop certification for others involved in producing the official record, as well, up to and including firm owners.  If not actual certification, then Continuing Education requirements centered on Professionalism, as is the standard in other industries, would be a welcome addition.

We hope and pray that the recordings will be found and, where necessary, accurate transcripts produced, so that justice can be carried out for all.

In previous posts (such as here and here) we have looked at the ramifications of errors in transcripts and one source of those errors.

Today’s news reports brings a somewhat different issue worth considering: What is considered an accurate rendering of the spoken word?  We have in the past been asked by court official to transcribe y’all as y’all when pronounced as such.  At the same time, the introduction of dialects and mis-pronunciations (intentional or otherwise) is a tricky issue for transcribers.  In this case it led to the AP being charged with racism:

On MSNBC, the African-American author Karen Hunter complained the news service transcribed Obama’s speech without cleaning it up as other outlets did–specifically including the “dropped g’s.”

My suggestion: when in doubt, check with the client.  Always better to get their preference on the matter so that at the end of the day they get what they want.  I guess that when the speaker is the President of the United States and the “client” is the entire media-reading population of the United States, that may not be so easy.

So – what do you say here?  complainin’ or complaining?

… provided that actually getting the words right is completely irrelevant, apparently:

The whole thing is worth reading, but here’s the money quote:

The researchers estimated that nearly 25 percent of the reports in the study contained a major error that could have affected understanding of the report or altered patient care.

[emphasis added]

25 percent?!  Yikes!

This is a pretty upsetting story and really highlights why a master digital audio recording being available and accessible to the public is so important to the pursuit of justice.

It’s always good to be reminded about the classics

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2011/04/penguin-typewriters-are-here-to-remind-you-about-the-classics.html

Thanks to Ellen for sharing this hysterical exchange for us and for reminding us how important it is to occasionally look up from your paper and take in the world around you…

The question asked by the interviewer of the claimant who is sitting before him:

Q.   Are you able to comb or brush your hair, sir?

And the incredible answer:

A.   I don’t have any hair.

Thanks to Dena for passing this one along – what a great invention this would be