There were countless examples of this mumbo-jumbo noted by The Daily Bellwether, all of it seeming to be a violation of federal rules that are supposed to give every American equal access to the airwaves. Obviously, something is seriously wrong. Perhaps the broadcasters, or the Federal Communications Commission that regulates broadcasters, have lost their sight.
The Bellwether saw "set the projukt jekt back" and "aens skapd." There was something about the "may who spray delged." And a "niece for nid." In Cincinnati, the city's name appeared as "seance gnaty" on a local newscast, and later as "zus gnaty" where the police "crishigred" a case. Only "hankle tin knowe" for certain what that might be about.
The sloppy translations looks to be matter in need of a major overhaul and Congress or state officials might want to delve into the situation. Within Ohio's aging population there are many seniors whose aural senses have faded. These elderly, too, use captions for news, information and entertainment. The National Association of the Deaf says:
"Closed captioning is an integral and crucial part of a deaf and hard of hearing person's daily life and personal safety. However, despite the FCC closed captioning rules, there continues to be woeful captioning access -- no access or poor quality -- in broadcast captions."
A Federal Communications Commission consumer fact sheet says closed captioning is a critical link for the deaf and hard of hearing. The FCC also notes: "For individuals whose native language is not English, English language captions improve comprehension and fluency. Captions also help improve literacy skills."
Gina Amberger, who watched some of the crazy captions on an evening local newscast, has a brother who was born deaf. She was outraged by the sloppy text. "This is ridiculous. This is gibberish. Why do the people who allow this to happen even have a job. Deaf people have a hard enough time as it is."
The National Association of the Deaf has plenty to say about captions.
