VITAC, the country’s largest provider of media and entertainment captioning in the industry, has exclusive captioning contracts for prerecorded programming on more than 25 television networks and is recognized as a preferred vendor for others, including, most recently, HBO Max. HBO Max, launched in May, is the premium network’s streaming service featuring all of HBO’s…
Read MoreThough it may look and sound a little different than what we’re used to, football is back. The college and pro seasons are underway, and VITAC will be right there to make sure every touchdown, turnover, and tackle is captioned and accessible. Captioning live sporting events can be a challenge for captioners and production teams…
Read MoreSeptember is Deaf Awareness Month in the United States − a celebration dedicated to increasing public awareness of deaf culture and deaf issues as well as recognizing the heritage and language unique to the deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHOH) community. The month encourages everyone to, among other things: Learn about inclusion and accessibility, including the importance…
Read MoreFor many teachers across the country, their roles as educators will look a little different this school year as they work to support the needs of students in remote, hybrid, and in-person classrooms (or, in some instances, a little bit of each). Virtual classrooms is the buzzword of the ‘20-’21 school year as students of…
Read MoreWelcome to the latest edition of “ADA in the News,” featuring recent news, updates, events, and rulings regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. Software Company Agrees to $200,000 Disability Discrimination Settlement A software publisher will pay $200,000 and make changes to its policies and training practices to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit. According to a…
Read MoreThe new year will be upon us sooner than we think, and it’s not too early (or too late) for businesses, government agencies, event centers, and others to begin considering their budget needs for 2021. But as budget planners decide on which items (new products, advertising, social media, websites) to devote money and time to…
Read MoreYouTube plans to end its community captions feature by the end of next month, and some content creators in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community aren’t happy about it. The feature, which enables viewers to manually add captions, subtitles, translations, and descriptions to YouTube videos, will be discontinued as of Sept. 28. The company cited an…
Read MoreStudents across the country will be going back to class this month, with some returning to physical classrooms while others will continue to attend classes remotely via online learning portals. Though student learning environments are certain to be different for the ‘20-‘21 school year, the accessibility of those learning spaces should not. In-class captions and captioned…
Read MoreWelcome to the latest edition of “ADA in the News,” featuring recent news, updates, events, and rulings regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act. Making Podcasts Accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Gimlet Media for failing to make its podcasts accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing consumers. The…
Read MoreThis Sunday (July 26) marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first comprehensive civil rights legislation addressing and granting basic accessibility needs for people with disabilities. The act dramatically changed – and improved – the social and political landscape of the United States, and greatly advanced the rights of people with…
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