WordWave and Sky team up for broadcast first

The broadcasts took place during the week of 14 February and covered the high profile courts martial hearings against three British Army soldiers in Osnabruck, Germany.

The three soldiers are accused of abusing Iraqi detainees at the so-called ‘Camp Breadbasket’ west of Basra in May 2003.

Sky covered both the Judge’s summing up and the verdict. Throughout, a WordWave reporter created a written transcript in real time, which was broadcast simultaneously on one of Sky News’s nine interactive channels.

Viewers who chose this option were able to read everything that was said, as it was being said.

The transcript was also broadcast as part of Sky News’s mainstream coverage, scrolling along the bottom of the screen during live links with reporters at the scene.

It’s the first time ever that permission has been given for live coverage of court proceedings under UK jurisdiction (which includes courts martials), live on television. In this case, the Military Court Service, which oversees courts martials for the British Army and the Royal Navy decided that unprecedented public interest called for a new approach.

“This is a massive step forward for both broadcasting and court reporting,” says Sarah Andrews, WordWave International Group Managing Director. “Thanks to a groundbreaking decision by the Military Court service, we’ve been able to work with Sky to open up these courts martials to the families and the wider public, not just in the UK but around the world.”

With WordWave already holding the contract to create the official record of proceedings for the Military Court Service, it was the obvious choice to help enhance Sky’s breakthrough broadcast.

In fact, the two companies have been working together for more than two years to make sure that when permission was finally granted, they were ready to respond immediately.

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