It was brought to my attention by Tiffany Guess in the Stenonymous Facebook group that this link used to house the text for the popular neuropsychologist blurb about court reporters that started circulating, as I recall, over 12 years ago. Atkinson-Baker, now a Veritext company, hosted it with credit to the Alabama Court Reporting Association.
So of course we use the Wayback Machine to see what that page looked like historically. It didn’t work for the above link, so I tried this one.
What did that page look like on March 27, 2016, according to the Wayback Machine?
As best I can tell, Atkinson-Baker was acquired in April 2020, though my personal recollection is hazy.
As if we didn’t have enough reasons to believe that Veritext was trying to underhandedly shape the market, at least one company under their control purged a steno reference. For what reason? This is akin to Stenograph papering over Phoenix theory with Phoenix ASR. It’s a rebranding at the expense of stenographers. A forced changing of the guard.
I know and accept that many stenographers feel trapped by their predicament. They are economically dependent upon the larger corporations and so coming out against their “employer” is just not going to happen. But remember that the company is not omniscient or omnipotent. Fans and haters both read the blog, so you can safely share my stuff in PMs under the guise of loving or hating it. The ultimate goal is spread it and increase reporter awareness.
Ultimately, the more Veritext reporters I get to talk to, the more power we will have to make a difference. So if you’re on the fence about me, here’s your sign, reach out.