Dear MSNBC Again – Captions on TV?

Oh boy – was aiming to watch re-run of the wedding – you know which one – last night on TV. So…went to MSNBC first – no captions!? None…none…none. Wonder why? Meanwhile, CNN had them, in full -). Thank you CNN! (now please add them to CNN online also).

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CCAC Letter to MSNBC, Thank You for Captions

April 27, 2011www.ccacaptioning.org       ccacaptioning@gmail.com

To the Media/Communication Division of MSNBC.com,

The Collaborative for Communication Access Via Captioning (CCAC) is an expanding grassroots group of individuals and other organizations working to educate and advocate for inclusion of quality captioning universally. Captioning includes CART (Communication Access Real Time Translation)  which is needed by many with hearing loss and deafness (millions do not use sign language at all), and used by many others also (for literacy, learning languages, and more).

The CCAC wishes to thank you for being one of the first Internet news websites to offer subtitles of selected videos. We hope to see this expand also so that all videos online include quality captioning soon.

With about 36 million people in the USA alone with hearing loss and deafness (and so many more globally who watch materials online also), inclusion of captioning or subtitles is very much needed. With inclusion of captionoing, millions more can access so many videos, podcasts, webcasts, and new materials that saturate the information highway.  The need is so great that the 21st Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 was passed, requiring the captioning of some Internet audio contents (yet not enough).

CCAC invites you, MSNBC, to think about ways that you and the CCAC can approach all media online most effectively, to educate and advocate more, so that the Internet becomes accessible for all. MSNBC is a trailblazer here, and we hope others follow.

Best regards,
Angela and Lauren
This letter will be shared with CCAC membership and social media. If your company has ideas for ways to support the development of the CCAC, please send them along. We look forward to your interest.

NB: CCAC encourages collaborations with all other groups, organizations, and companies that support the CCAC mission and goals, see www.ccacaptioning.org).  For example, one of the CCAC members signing this letter, learned about inclusion of subtitles on MSNBC.com  from another online resource (bhNEWS, Better Hearing News online, go to:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bhNEWS/

(If above link does not open well from this site, please copy it and open in a new tab/browser on your maching; it’s a yahoogroup online.)

Captions for Learning – Nothing better!

Doing our best to make this go viral :-), see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT_IV6KL53A and talk to your friends in Australia. CCAC seeks more members from around the world.

http://www.ccacaptioning.org is the place to join us; free, add your voice, give us your advocacy ideas and energies.

Say What? Thank you, Say What Club!

Don’t miss reading this nice interview with John Waldo, a CCAC member too (among many worthy hats):

http://www.saywhatclub.com/newsletter/apr2011/interview.html

Say what? Saying thanks to all efforts to get the word out – we need captioning inclusion in so many places. Educate and advocate. “Hearing impaired” does not equate to sign language user – 90% or more of millions who are deaf or have a hearing loss use captioning. Why is it not mentioned more?

Vicarious Pleasures – with Captioning

Today we’d like to commend Keen Guides and all who contribute there to offer us this wonderful short “tour” online, for just one example:

http://www.keenguides.com/sites/121-Adams-Memorial

Quality captioning included! Thank you.

ls/ccac

Fertile season for new technologies: hear this all tech companies

Early Sunday in my town was cold and wet. The warmth of the people who got up early for the cloudy sunrise service was over-abundant compensation however. And the sun did shine later in the day!

There was no captioning for the outdoor early morning service of course. Yet we each held a piece of paper for the songs and readings. Most there were able to hear the strong and well-projected voice of the minister. We were happy to be next to good neighbors of all ages.

Following the service, there was a delicious and more abundant breakfast for all. In that large room, with many voices, yours truly could not hear the person so close to me across the table. What sort of solution would be possible in this setting? Captioning?

Yes…it’s possible, one of these days, when the world learns how important and healthy it is for so many. This community vignette is one example of a much broader and larger need. It also says why the efforts of CCAC member volunteers to educate more folks about the need for inclusion of CART and captioning is significant. See this page again on our website (https://sites.google.com/site/ccacgroup/articles-resources/why-cart-in-clubs-and-church)

Our society (federal and state governments) contribute funds for many sorts of resources for inclusion of all. Communication access via captioning is equally urgent.

Money is tight, we all know this. Yet just imagine, just imagine! how beneficial for so many it will become when technology can deliver to us, for millions who cannot hear clearly in group situations, a handheld speech-to-text system of high quality, and at no cost to those who deserve it (like the original older “TTY” telephones). This can be provided by skilled human captioners, since no automatic system functions well enough yet (in spite of some hype out there). We’ve been told for years that the automatic systems are coming along (by technology companies), and if so, much too slow.

Telegraph, telephone, wireless, and the Internet – all were partially inspired by hearing concerns (hearing loss issues). Now we have mobiles, droids, ipods, and next generation technologies soon to be marketed to all.  Please add your voice,  join ,with us to explain how important quality captioning inclusion is – we’ll be turned on and tuned it, with your understanding.

For such a device to work for many of us in rural areas, the venue must have a good internet connection and also a good mobile connection – not there yet!  Meanwhile, in this season of new beginnings, the daffodils in northern states are opening, the forsythia stalks are cut and placed in the vase to “force” the blossoms indoors. Step by step, we’ll keep trying to make the captioning garden grow. Many are waiting.

CCAC Repository of Captioning Advocacy Projects

If you have joined the CCAC, you are able to view and review this important document: The CCAC spreadsheet for all the caps (captioning advocacy projects) that we know about. This document aims to keep a record of captioning advocacy projects ongoing by CCAC members AND others. We invite all to send us the information to add your important captioning advocacy also.  Keep in mind that asking for captioning where it’s missing is one meaningful level of captioning advocacy. Larger projects are state wide or national, and international also. Email ccacaptioning@gmail.com to keep us all posted.

http://spreadsheets0.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=t2qZ59EkVMkbgeUnIFEMqKg#gid=0

Captioning for netflix

https://www.change.org/petitions/require-netflix-to-provide-closed-captioning-on-all-streaming-movies is another petition for those interested.

we are sure netflix is not deaf to these concerns – many are contacting them – we’ve heard they say they are updating inclusion of captioning as quickly as they can? seems too slow for many however; it’s good there are educated folks who can keep track of this….

ccac does not have an official cap (captioning advocacy project) for this netflix issue – just helping to spread the word – no barriers for entertainments – not right.

ls/ccac

Caption political campaigns now: Speeches in person. on TV, on Web

Good government means informed citizens. All citizens! Running for office? Supporting your candidate? Want more facts and information instead of hype and phony claims? Be sure to demand that all public appearances and ads on tv and the internet by your candidate are fully captioned…quality captioning for all!

CCAC would be delighted to hear from you if you begin advocating for this. Please tell us via email or comment here. CCACaptioning@gmail.com. Thanks!

Many Advantages for Captioning and CART – see here!

We’re going to tell you about all the positives derived from CART (real time captioning) in education or at work, due to having the “transcript” – there is always a transcript afterward, either rough or edited for perfection :-). From two who have great experience, come these words of wisdom:

From a CART provider, and from an Outreach Specialist/Education, regarding having the transcript, Make a note of these for all your advocacy:

“As a CART provider, I can tell you that we have seen big business post transcripts in ‘electronic workrooms,’ we have seen professors use them as they prepare to author books, we have even had some schools sell them.  This is in addition to copies to the student using the service.  There really is no pattern to the distribution. …while they are primarily used for accessibility, various uses might be a positive by-product when talking with your administration.  Posting them makes you unique, gives your school additional exposure, and can be an assistance to the professorial staff.  All positives…”

And from an educational Outreach Worker, about Providing Hard-copy Texts of Classroom Lectures: 

“Transcripts of lectures can be used as complete classroom notes, preserving the entire lecture and all students’ comments for subsequent review by deaf and hard of hearing students taking the course.

• Instructors may welcome the transcripts as a way of tightening their lectures and reviewing their students’ questions and comments.
• Transcripts can be of value in tutoring deaf and hard of hearing students, enabling tutors to organize tutoring sessions in close accord with course content.
• Interpreters can use the transcripts to improve their signing of course-specific words and expressions.

CCAC says, “Quality Captioning Inclusion Universally, why not?!” Join now. Comments welcome.