WordWave and Sky in new broadcasting breakthrough

It’s the first time in UK criminal proceedings that such a transcript has been broadcast.

WordWave captured the dramatic end of the trial (the judge discharged the jury after it failed to reach a verdict) using its realtime reporting service, a standard feature at legal proceedings and public inquiries around the world.

Sky News then broadcast the transcript live and verbatim, using its brand new technology, SkyScript.

Sarah Andrews, WordWave International Group Managing Director says: “It’s the first time we have provided our broadcast captioning services for a criminal trial, which is a hugely exciting development in broadcasting. Viewers were able to find out what was happening in this case, in which there has been a high level of public interest, as it unfolded.”

Sky digital viewers were able to see the verdict on SkyScript live, and via Sky News Active by pressing the red button on their remote controls.

It’s the latest stage in a partnership between WordWave and Sky that has already seen one technological breakthrough. Their broadcast of the verdict at the Iraq abuse courts martial in Osnabruck in February this year was the first live transcript of judicial proceedings seen anywhere in the world (see SoundByte March 2005).

“Following several years of negotiations with the judiciary and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, we have now agreed a protocol allowing, at the judge’s discretion, live transmission of stenography from opening and closing speeches, the summing up, and verdicts,” says Simon Bucks, associate editor of Sky News. “This is the first time such access has been granted in criminal proceedings, and is a great leap forward for court reporting.”

To find out more about WordWave’s broadcast captioning service, contact Alex Hawkins on 020 7421 4028 or at: alex.hawkins@wordwave.co.uk