By Deanna Baker
Here are some questions posed to me by a new captioner.
- Is local news captioning the bottom-of-the-barrel type of work for news captioning? It's just so hard because of all the local names, places, etc.
The answer is ... it depends. Yes, local news is tough, but once you're well prepared for it and if you work for the same station on a regular basis, it makes the show much more enjoyable, although I'd never say "easy." It is the most prevalent kind of work, so probably the easiest kind to get.
Your attitude will make a big difference. If you think of local news captioning as the bottom of the barrel, it will be. If you know you're helping many people understand their local news and affecting their lives dramatically, it will take on a different feel. Everyone has their own definition for bottom of the barrel. Mine is golf as I don't even like the sport and find it horribly boring!
- What should I do when I'm offered lower rates for some work than what I'm getting right now?
Well, as a new captioner, it's certainly up to you in terms of what you are willing to accept. I'm confident you're not going on the air at less than the industry standard of 98.5 percent accuracy. Of course, the experience you are getting is priceless: Each new show and every new station teaches you something new or gives you a little more experience. And every little bit helps.
While work is plentiful these days, a captioning company may hire a new captioner at a lower rate than a seasoned captioner. Ultimately, what you are willing to work for and what price you put on your quality of work is a personal decision. Then again, if you're willing to work for lower rates, those lower rates may stick around.
- Do you think I should just work for others or try to get my own clients? Is it really worth all the extra stress and work?
Boy, this is another "it depends" answer. My decision to never have my own clients is pretty simple: I don't want a 365-days-a-year, 24/7 job. If you contract with a news station, that's what you get. You also have to hire other captioners (as you certainly can't be available 24/7) and deal with schedules, paperwork, technical issues, emergency coverage, troubleshooting, etc. Some people thrive on that. You may want to talk with a caption company owner and see what the pros and cons are in that situation.
- Have you ever captioned arena football?
I can't say that I have, but I have thoroughly enjoyed captioning NFL games. For sports captioning, you must pay attention to the game, terminology, teams, routines, and so forth, or it may seem daunting.
I approach all my captioning jobs just like I did depositions. I will try anything once, but I go in completely prepared with a positive attitude and see where it leads me. I think I can say it's led to a very successful captioning career.
- If I'm scheduled for a show and call in and master control says, "We're not doing that show today," but apparently never told the captioner who hired me to cancel so that she could cancel me, do I bill?
Excellent question. And with the craziness of shows these days, it's possible this might happen. My first blush answer is yes, you were booked for a time slot and nobody cancelled, so I would invoice.
There could be two different scenarios here. One is where the station didn't actually tell the contracting captioning company the show was cancelled, which would then mean the captioning company would invoice for the show. If the station did notify of the cancellation and the captioning company forgot to tell you, the company would then have to go out of pocket for that show by paying you, even though the company won't get paid. I see that as a bit of a learning experience on the company's part for keeping on top of their business practices.
The difficulty here is maintaining a good business relationship between you and the captioner or captioning company that hired you. How you want to handle that, either personally or professionally, is up to you. It is best to discuss these issues when you are contacted to cover shows so there are no questions after the fact.
About the author
Deanna Baker, FAPR, RMR, is from Flagstaff, Ariz. If you have a question about captioning, you can ask her at dpbaker@mindspring.com.