RESTON, Va., Feb. 3, 2020 — The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), the country’s leading organization representing stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers, has designated Feb. 8-15 as the 2020 National Court Reporting & Captioning Week. The weeklong event will highlight the many aspects of court reporting and captioning that make it a viable profession, including good salaries, flexibility, interesting venues and the increasing demand for more reporters and captioners to meet the growing number of employment opportunities available in the field.

Court reporters, captioners, state court reporter associations and court reporting schools around the country will host an array of activities, including visits to high schools to showcase the profession, Veterans History Project interviews, volunteering to lead an NCRA A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program, media outreach and more. Professionals in the field will use these opportunities to demonstrate how the stenographic machine works to capture the spoken word and translate it into written text in real time. NCRA members will also share their stories with the public about how they became involved in the profession, the interesting events they have reported on, and why their career choice has proven to be one of the best decisions they’ve made.

“NCRA and its members are so excited to be celebrating 2020 Court Reporting & Captioning Week because it provides each of us with the opportunity to share with others what we love about the profession, why we chose it and the numerous wonderful benefits it offers,” NCRA President Max Curry, RPR, CRI, a court reporter and firm owner from Franklin, Tenn.

“Court Reporting & Captioning Week is also the perfect time to share with potential students how they can take advantage of NCRA’s A to Z® Intro to Steno Machine Shorthand program, a free six-to-eight-week course that is available onsite and online. This wonderful program, which is led by working professionals, is designed to help participants get a feel for working on a real steno machine by learning the alphabet and learning to write a few simple words. The A to Z program also provides participants with an opportunity to test the waters and see if a profession in the court reporting or captioning field is a good fit for them,” he added.

To help celebrate the week, NCRA has made available a vast collection of resources including informational and marketing materials available on its DiscoverSteno.org site, launched to help promote the profession to high school students, career changers, college redirects and veterans.

NCRA will also support official legislative recognition of national Court Reporting & Captioning Week and rely on its social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, as well as blogs to reach thousands of people throughout the week to raise public awareness about pursuing a career in the field and the important role court reporters and captioners play in capturing the official record, preserving history and providing vital services to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

“Throughout the week, NCRA members will be upping their efforts to introduce to consumers and potential students why the court reporting and captioning professions matter in and out of the courtroom, the positive impact these professionals have on peoples’ lives and the many great returns such as flexibility in the workplace, the ability to work in different venues around the world and the capacity to earn high wages,” Curry added.