By my estimates there are 20,000 freelancers and 28,000 court reporters total in this country. We do not receive much formal legal education beyond the terminology we might hear. This has left many of us confused on our legal rights. Even the agencies that hire us, schools that train us, and the members of the bench and bar we work with every day lack basic information about important concepts we are dealing with. This puts court reporters at a serious competitive disadvantage against anyone with the funds to hire a lawyer.
It’s time for change. If you are ready for that change, please take some time to answer this 8-question survey. I encourage you to share it with anyone you feel might answer it honestly. Every single honest answer will pave the way for taking this from concept to execution. This survey allows me to gauge interest and expand the project. I will release more information as soon as it is appropriate and safe to do so.
We must keep recruiting and sharing information. But I would like to remind everyone to take care of yourself this holiday season. If the stenographic newswire or some other issue is causing you to feel down, take care of yourself. Try to reach out to a support system. Humans are communal. You are not bad, wrong, or alone. You are human. You will be okay because all feelings change over time.
A very special thank you to every single one of my readers. Your readership has made this moment possible. Let me just note that Sound Professionals’ Chris Carfagno has let me know about their latest product announcement. I have always heard good things about SP; I have a great impression of Chris and have no problem recommending them. I will state that I do not believe I’ve personally used their products. When I used to use audio, I think I was using a mic sold by Stenograph at the time, which probably explains why I don’t use audio anymore. I have also started transitioning to Eclipse in honor of the Stenograph boycott. It feels great to be learning new skills and technology in my field and I would encourage every single reporter in the industry to give it a try. Eclipse provides robust training resources on top of its Anytime Support. I even had to call them recently (weekday, business hours), and they returned my call in under three minutes. Switching isn’t easy, but Eclipse has done all it can to make my transition pleasant. I have a feeling that once I am done, I will be able to honestly tell readers which software I prefer from a performance standpoint. Stay tuned.
PS. Stenograph reached out to the Texas Court Reporters Association board. My understanding is that there will be a future meeting in 2022 where members will be allowed to ask questions. This is why I called for the boycott. The more pressure we apply, the more urgent it is for them to curry favor with our associations and make us happy. It would make me personally happy if Stenograph acknowledged that digital court reporting will likely hurt minority speakers’ transcript accuracy. I give my word that if Stenograph makes such an acknowledgment, I will call off the boycott. Until then, let’s see how far those revenues can fall for 2022 and 2023 renewals as people continue canceling support. This profession will endure. Stenograph’s endurance relies upon its service to this profession.
I’ve been a stenographer for 30+ years. I’m in favor of boycotting Stenograph. It’s about time. I started my career with Stenograph products but am an Eclipse user for 20 years because I felt that Stenograph, as the largest (at the time) steno-product company, hasn’t been “FOR” stenographers. Their tech support has been hugely lacking for many years. Simply put, they’ve taken advantage of and mistreated stenographers. They don’t have our best interests in mind, only their bottom line.
It really seems they did. I was astonished how fast Eclipse called me back compared to how fast Stenograph called me back.
I wholeheartedly support Sound Professionals. They have assisted me throughout the last upteen many years to adapt to the rigors of our profession. They always go above and beyond to assist and make sure I’ve gotten the right technology for the job. Chris and crew stepped up immediately when COVID hit and enabled me to switch to online meetings and classes, depos and hearings in order to support myself and my family. I can’t sing their praises high enough.
I have read this story before on social media I think. They really help our profession. Chris is really nice.
I just took the plunge and made the switch to Eclipse. I’ll be getting trained during the break and look forward to 2022 on Eclipse! We should start a new FB group for all of us making the switch to Eclipse! BOYCOT Stenograph!!!