Although large media companies - guided by the tenets of the Americans with Disabilities Act - have made some minimal efforts towards comprehensive captioning, much of it is insufficient.
They have the resources to provide comprehensive and universal captioning for every show, movie, and event that they air. Here at All The Words On The Screen, we believe they have a responsibility as well.
They can - and SHOULD - do better.
All of this said, there ARE benefits to doing a better job at providing comprehensive and accurate captioning for audiences.
A more inclusive audience means a larger audience, which will in turn generate more ad revenue and better PR. It's also the right move ethically.
In lieu of personnel auditing captions, an automated way for viewers to submit alerts or issues is by adding a QR code that shows on pause.
Programmed QR codes, to show on screen pause- can allow for users to self report when there is a caption or audio issue. Notices sent via this method will have timestamp information in them for auditing.
As media is available today, on pause there are a variety of options available- including toggling closed captions. Having a notification button available for selection- can allow for people to submit notices with minimal effort.
Simply having an online form, where people can submit issues can be an easy way of retrieving information on available content.
Create a method for viewers to report captioning opportunities. Hire personnel to review content to ensure captioning parity with audio.
Empower the content manager to ensure all new media being supplied contains accurate captioning before distribution.
