Keep Calm and Try Boot Camp

September 21, 2017

A lively discussion was had recently regarding attorney requests for rough drafts. In a nutshell, it seems that there are a great many reporters who are not understanding the difference between a "clean rough draft" and an edited transcript.

Arguably, there actually is a standard for what a clean rough draft is expected to look like. What that looks like is going to vary drastically from one experienced reporter to another, however.

Being able to produce a quality rough draft -- a "clean" rough draft -- takes work. It takes an experienced reporter who has worked hard to perfect this technique in producing a clean rough and producing it quickly. It is not just random cleanup of some stuff in the transcript to make it "better," then submitted to the attorney, nor is it an edited transcript, pored through line by line, and then submitted as "clean." There is a happy medium, some middle ground here, but it takes effort as a reporter on the front end to get there, and not just after the proceedings, when the rough draft is ordered.

Enter the many behind-the-scenes conversations between me and some of my fellow realtime colleagues about "the art of producing a rough draft." And enter the idea that a Rough Draft Boot Camp is a much-needed seminar around the country.

And enter the idea that I could be the one to do it.

Stay tuned.