We the Undersigned ask the following:
To implement a standard requiring live captioning at the local level to achieve 97.5% accuracy and 99% accuracy for national/international programming; and require the captioner at the end of each hour of live programming to send a caption notice:
To report poor captions or transmission errors, visit http://______________.com/. The website would be provided by the television station.
Failure to comply with captioning standard or address transmission errors in a timely manner would result in a fine to the television station.
My name is Lorilyn Roberts and I have provided closed captioning for television for the past twelve years.
Recently I have seen a degradation in caption quality as many providers have sought ways to cut costs, oftentimes through the use of unqualified captioners and inferior technologies.
The only way to reverse this trend and ensure quality captioning into the future is to establish a minimum captioning standard.
As the population in our country ages, the need for captions will become increasingly important for those over 65 who may develop hearing loss.
We are a nation of immigrants, foreigners, and naturalized citizens who rely on captions to communicate and receive vital information.
A significant portion of the population, perhaps as high as eight percent, is hard-of-hearing or functionally deaf.
Captions are used by school-age children to help bolster reading skills.
Many restaurants, motels, and public places display captions as part of the ambience of the establishment.
As a result, captions play an important role in the lives of many, and are vital for disseminating information related to news, weather, sports, entertainment, and national security. Captions enable hearing-challenged individuals to live a healthy lifestyle.
We need a minimum standard to ensure that quality captions are not compromised by inferior methods, technical issues, or incompetent providers that undermine the integrity of the American with Disabilities Act.
Thank you for listening to the concerns of the public on this very important topic.
