Interview Transcription Services: The Need and Benefits

Oral history shapes the primary source of information, followed by written and printed material. Prior to the advent of recording technology, verbal information was documented and handed down through generations. In the digital era, video and audio recording combined with transcription methods form a large body of today's media content and professional documentation. Here are some of the main needs and benefits of interview transcription.

Importance of Interview Transcription

Interviews with witnesses to historic events preserve memories and create exclusive artifacts. They represent first-hand accounts rather than after-the-fact reporting from secondary sources. Media outlets are particularly interested in going through the interviews to extract quotes to enhance news stories. But since journalists spend the majority of their time researching and writing, they must hire a professional transcription company to transcribe the interview into text.

The Benefits

The main benefit of hiring a professional transcription company for their interview transcription services is that it can save plenty of time. Transcription requires careful and objective listening with minimal editorial judgment and this task can take much longer time than taken for the recording.

In some of cases, an hour recording may take as much as three hours to transcribe accurately. A transcriptionist may need to spend additional time doing research for clarifying verbiage. Professionals who focus on writing tend to be bored with this process, or simply operate on tight schedules, while experienced transcriptionists specialize in documenting and indexing content.

Audio recordings are used in museums to create a more curious atmosphere for tourists. Many times these recordings are narrations that began with a script, which may be available in printed form on a brochure. The audio or video may also feature interviews with authorities. The museum can make money by selling transcriptions of a more extensive archive of these recordings.

Quality interview transcription comes from careful written or printed documentation of words and non-verbal communication from a recording without initial editing considerations. A transcriptionist then reviews the raw text and corrects any mistakes and sends it to the client, who may request revisions that include annotation and certain editing. The interview transcription project culminates with indexing and cataloguing.

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