NYSA of SHHH, Inc.
New York State Association of 
Self Help for Hard of  Hearing People, Inc.
Reporter
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Update: Television Closed Captioning
– Joe Gordon
 
We welcome the new year because on January 1, 2000, the first mandated regulation of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) became effective. By this date at least 25 percent of "new" programs (first published or exhibited after January 1, 1998) must be closed captioned. This responsibility lies with broadcast channels, cable channels, and home satellite providers.

However, there are some exemptions from the FCC regulations:

  • Announcements of less than five minutes.
  • Promotions of upcoming programs.
  • Non-English programs (Spanish programs must be captioned over a 14-year period).
  • Programs shown between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
  • Music programs (non-verbal).
Note:
There are other minor exemptions and there might be changes in the future.

Some issues remain for the FCC to address:

  • Accuracy of captions.
  • Overall quality of captions.
  • "Reformatting" – the disappearance of captions when a program moves to a different channel.
Broadcasters must be reminded of the importance of captions. Let us continue to educate, advocate, and write letters to television channels. It is our personal letters which get attention and results. Some suggested comments for your letter include:
  1. Thanks. Do compliment channels for captioning; it is an expense for them. Let them know which captioned programs you watch.
  2. Requests.Ask for more shows to be captioned. Name the shows you would watch if they were captioned.
  3. Complaints. Polite complaints should be sent when necessary; the TV channels want to know of problems.
The complete FCC regulations on closed captioning are on the FCC web site: www.FCC.gov.