Saving Steno – A Strategic Roadmap to Protect the Profession

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As a certified court reporter who has covered more than 500 trials across California, I have witnessed the profession’s resilience — and its fragility. Stenography has been the gold standard of accuracy, accountability, and integrity in the courtroom for over a century. Yet today, we face an existential threat: the rise of digital recording, automatic speech recognition (ASR), and the encroachment of large corporations seeking to commoditize our work.

The truth is simple: court reporters are not just service providers. We are guardians of the record, and without us, justice itself is at risk. Saving this profession will require coordinated strategy, not just isolated action. Below is a roadmap for how we — as individuals, associations, and innovators — can safeguard stenography’s future.

1. Reframe the Narrative

The public — and even many attorneys — often misunderstand what we do. We are not “typists.” We are trained officers of the court, responsible for producing the official, accurate, and certified record of proceedings.

To save stenography, we must reframe the narrative:

  • From clerical to critical. Court reporters are not optional; we are essential.
  • From tradition to technology. We must highlight how our realtime skills, streaming, and AI-assisted tools far exceed the capabilities of microphones and software.
  • From scarcity to value. Shortages should not justify replacement; they should highlight our value and the need for better recruitment and retention.

2. Show Our Value: Verbatim or Nothing

The most important value we bring is simple: if it isn’t verbatim, it isn’t the record.

Transcripts created after-the-fact from digital recordings or ASR are not evidence — they are out-of-court hearsay. Machines cannot swear an oath, defend their product on the witness stand, or be held accountable for inaccuracies. Only a stenographer, present in the room and responsible for the record, can produce a transcript that meets evidentiary standards.

This is not just about protecting jobs. It’s about protecting justice. If the record isn’t trustworthy, the system itself is compromised. That is the cornerstone of our value.

3. Invest in Recruitment and Education

The shortage is real, but solvable. Schools have closed, and awareness has dropped, yet stenography remains a lucrative and rewarding career.

Key steps include:

  • National awareness campaigns aimed at high school and community college students, emphasizing earnings, flexibility, and civic importance.
  • Scholarships and apprenticeships sponsored by firms, associations, and even courts.
  • Modernized curriculum that incorporates technology, gamification, and mentorship to retain students.

We need to make court reporting aspirational again.

4. Build Independent Advocacy Channels

Too often, reporters rely solely on large associations to represent them. While organizations like NCRA and state associations play an important role, grassroots and independent advocacy must fill the gaps.

Independent channels allow us to:

  • Call out unethical partnerships with digital recording firms.
  • Publish investigative journalism that exposes threats to our profession.
  • Mobilize reporters to take action quickly on legislative or judicial issues.

The strength of the profession lies in its members, not in corporate or organizational gatekeepers.

5. Harness Technology Without Surrendering to It

Technology should be our ally, not our replacement. Court reporters already use CAT software, realtime streaming, and remote platforms. But we can go further:

  • AI-assisted tools for research, transcript indexing, and scheduling.
  • Next-generation transcript security systems to guarantee provenance and authenticity, ensuring the record is tamper-proof and verifiable.
  • Integrated professional ecosystems that connect reporters, firms, and clients in transparent, efficient ways — not just stand-alone apps or profiles, but unified networks that strengthen the profession as a whole.

If we don’t innovate, others will — at our expense.

6. Engage the Legal Community

Attorneys, judges, and litigants must understand why stenographers matter. The roadmap requires:

  • MCLE presentations at bar associations on the risks of ASR and digital recordings (accuracy, confidentiality, hearsay).
  • White papers and ethics opinions that reinforce the irreplaceable role of human reporters.
  • Direct outreach to judges and court administrators to educate them on the dangers of cutting corners with the record.

When lawyers see us as allies in preserving their cases — not just as line items on a bill — they will fight for us too.

7. Elevate Professional Standards

The best defense against replacement is excellence — and that doesn’t stop at the transcript. Court reporters are officers of the court, and every detail we present communicates our value.

  • Professional Attire Matters. Male reporters often default to suits, projecting authority and formality. Yet too many women in the field show up in casual clothes — capris, sandals, or outfits more fitting for errands than a courtroom. This undermines the gravitas of our role. If attorneys are in suits and judges in robes, reporters should also project professionalism in their dress.
  • Courtroom Presence Equals Courtroom Respect. How we look affects how seriously we are taken. A sharp, professional appearance reinforces the idea that we are not “note-takers” or “help,” but equal participants in the administration of justice.
  • Set the Standard. Students and new reporters follow the example set by veterans. By holding ourselves to high standards — transcripts, conduct, and attire — we reinforce the profession’s dignity and ensure we are viewed as essential, not replaceable.

Excellence, both on the page and in our presence, is our strongest advocacy.

8. Unite Innovation, Advocacy, and Integrity

The path forward isn’t one-dimensional. To save stenography, we must unite three forces:

  • Innovation — embracing tools that keep us efficient and competitive.
  • Advocacy — ensuring lawmakers, lawyers, and the public hear our voice.
  • Integrity — upholding the ethical standards that make our record unassailable.

Without integrity, we lose trust. Without advocacy, we lose ground. Without innovation, we lose relevance. But together, they form the foundation of our survival.

The Time Is Now

The future of court reporting isn’t a matter of fate; it’s a matter of choice. If we stand by while corporations and algorithms dismantle our profession, we will vanish. But if we act — strategically, boldly, and collectively — we can ensure that stenographers remain the guardians of the record for generations to come.

The roadmap is clear. The question is: will we take it?

StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.

Disclaimer

“This article includes analysis and commentary based on observed events, public records, and legal statutes.”

The content of this post is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are based on publicly available information, industry standards, and good-faith concerns about nonprofit governance and professional ethics. No part of this article is intended to defame, accuse, or misrepresent any individual or organization. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and to engage constructively in dialogue about leadership, transparency, and accountability in the court reporting profession.

  • The content on this blog represents the personal opinions, observations, and commentary of the author. It is intended for editorial and journalistic purposes and is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
  • Nothing here constitutes legal advice. Readers are encouraged to review the facts and form independent conclusions.

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Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

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