WPXI’s captions explained
Post-Gazette TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions online every Friday in Tuned In Journal blog at post-gazette.com/tv. Here’s a selection of recent queries.
Q: On a recent news broadcast, Channel 11 ran a segment with an on-thescene reporter giving a live, roadside report and weather conditions. While he was talking, I noticed that the closed captioning was not only keeping up with him, it was going ahead of him, as if it were scripted. If the report is live, and I assume ad-libbed, how did the CC get ahead of the narration, word for word? — DAN, NEW CASTLE
Rob: In 2002, WPXI used a closed captioning system in its newscasts that ran off a script rather than using humans to do live, real-time closed captions. But that’s no longer the case, according to Channel 11 director of engineering Otto Schellin. “The closed captioning is not based on a script, but rather typed in real-time by closed captioners remote from the station and provided over a data network,” he said. “We have a slight delay from our studio to our broadcast but provide the captioners the realtime audio. This allows them time to type the captioning and encode it into our broadcast so that it matches close to the actual spoken words. Sometimes the captioner is very quick to transcribe the audio and the closed caption actually comes out slightly ahead of the broadcast audio.”
Q: Why does WTAE always debut a new feature to their news like an HD Camera, new graphics or a new studio after they do the Project Bundle-Up telethon? It just seems like the money goes to them and not to the people who need it. — VALERIE, WEST MIFFLIN
Rob: There is no connection between WTAE’s charity telethon and its debut of a new gizmo or studio or graphics package. Donna Fenick of The Salvation Army, which administers Project Bundle-Up and receives all funds, responds: “Please be assured, as the 501(c)3 registered nonprofit partner of the WTAE TV project Bundle Up program, The Salvation Army is responsible for collecting and administering all funds for the program. No funds are ever deposited in non-Salvation Army accounts or used for any purposes other than paying for winter outerwear for needy clients and the administration of the project Bundle Up program. The Salvation Army takes great care to be good stewards of our donors’ dollars and is one of the world’s most respected charities in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency, as we average 82 cents of every dollar raised spent on direct client service.”