ScribeWire: Delivering the Human Connection in Media Accessibility
Very few companies understand the immense transformation that media has undergone like Eastern Ontario’s ScribeWire. Originally created to support major Canadian broadcasting networks in 1994, ScribeWire has continually adapted to the ever-changing landscape of media consumption, from the height of TV and radio to the full maturity of the information age and the takeoff of online content growth.
This has forced a duality of grounded pragmatism and visionary flexibility in ScribeWire’s service modelling. A balance led by CEO Brooke Woboditsch, a proud member of the Anishinaabe Indigenous community who inherited the company from her late father, Canadian broadcaster Larry Gavin. ScribeWire’s story is one of evolution alongside changing technologies and content needs, while never turning its back on what is most important in communication: the human connection.
Accuracy, Convenience, and Trust
Media accessibility is not only a matter of legal compliance, it is crucial for expanding reach to audiences with varying abilities and diverse linguistic needs. Most automatic captioning and transcription tools fall short of media accessibility standards in terms of:
Accuracy
Cultural sensitivity
Confidentiality and security
Ultimately limiting their effectiveness, creating barriers to inclusivity, and ultimately lowering interactions.
With over three decades in the market, ScribeWire has become a trusted go-to provider in full-spectrum media accessibility, offering high-quality services such as live captioning, CART, simultaneous interpretation, American Sign Language (ASL), described video, transcription, translation, and website accessibility audits for corporations, broadcasters, government agencies, and more. The common thread of this full portfolio is an emphasis on innovation combining expert human oversight, security, and user-centric design to ensure accuracy, compliance, and cultural sensitivity. As a Woman-led Indigenous business, the company is committed to enhancing media accessibility and ensuring equitable access for all, no matter the medium or the demographic.
Unlike competitors relying solely on automatic solutions, ScribeWire uses subject matter experts, ensuring precise and compliant accessibility. Recognizing the importance of understanding in communication, the company takes the human element one step further, connecting its clients with personnel that match things like accent, subject expertise, and cultural knowledge. Pairing this custom service with an efficient proprietary resource management system has made ScribeWire in demand across industry.
Building on Three Decades of Supporting Media
Of course, ScribeWire did not always have such a robust service offering. In 1994, under the leadership of founder Larry Gavin, the company, then known as Closed Caption Services (CCS), set itself apart by combining human expertise with an innovative virtual business model.
As online media became more popular and accessibility standards set a new bar in content requirements, CCS began expanding its services to meet the needs of post-production captioning, web captioning, and described video. The resulting growth in content and resources requiring support has led the company to develop a proprietary management system that centralized all project details including client assignments, live event schedules, video projects and client deadlines. Spurring this transformation was a passing of the baton in leadership from Larry Gavin to his daughter Brooke Woboditsch, who saw the shift in content consumption and wanted to make sure the company expanded to full-spectrum support for media accessibility.
By 2018, 95% of ScribeWire’s business still came from broadcasting, but the company was primed to begin major market penetration into online accessibility services. This positioning aligned fortuitously with the major shift to online work and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People started finding us for Film Festivals, town hall meetings, conferences and hybrid events,” reflected Woboditsch as she recounted the large wave of customers that flooded the company during the COVID-19 lockdown. “This surge in demand for live transcription services, especially as business pivoted online, allowed us to expand our offerings. We added capabilities to accommodate bilingual events with the addition of French and Spanish transcription and captioning. To offer a full-spectrum experience, we also incorporated simultaneous interpretation and American Sign Language (ASL), ensuring comprehensive access for all our clients.”
Where the pandemic marked a turning point in media and communication needs, ScribeWire found a lasting source of demand for its services. With the growth in live-streamed and hybrid events showing no signs of slowing, there has been a continued increase in work for live and post-production multi-lingual and ASL transcription service providers.
Integrating the Latest Technology with Human Expertise
Not a team to become complacent, ScribeWire is looking to the next evolution in media accessibility services. “Currently many technology companies are focused on replacing humans as part of the service delivery and creating automatic technologies for captioning, transcription, interpretation, and translation,” confirms Woboditsch. “Companies relying on these technologies face significant limitations in terms of accuracy for some types of content, and there are also major concerns about the security of proprietary information.”
ScribeWire is addressing these challenges by integrating cutting-edge tools, including AI where appropriate, to support rather than replace human expertise.
These tools assist with tasks like automating the generation of first-pass transcription and caption files, incorporating custom dictionaries, automating corrections in speech recognition, creating format templates, and creating a more efficient human review process. The approach allows ScribeWire to bring cost-effective services that meet high standards for accuracy.
The company is also developing a centralized customer portal that has the potential to become a built-in accessibility department for audiovisual companies, large event management firms, and post-production houses, seamlessly complementing their services by keeping ScribeWire’s offerings custom to customer needs and connecting the right resources for each job.
This full solution model is a major win for their clients, who are required to meet a variety of accessibility regulations like ACA, AODA, and WCAG, which often require multiple specialized suppliers.
Capitalizing on Momentum for Continued Growth
As leader of ScribeWire, Woboditsch is quick to speak on the exciting and trying path of entrepreneurship, “Taking over ScribeWire, was like flying an airplane with no training. At first, it was daunting navigating both the company and the rapidly changing media landscape. But step by step, we embraced innovation and built a future-forward company that continues to adapt, ensuring our services remain cutting-edge and meet the evolving needs of our clients.”
Throughout this experience, Woboditsch reached out to a plethora of support networks for Canadian startups, participated in multiple accelerator programs, and worked closely with Launch Lab Advisor Judith Pineault, who connected her with many other entrepreneurs to share experiences and knowledge on how to successfully grow a business.
Woboditsch, quick to express the value in connecting with fellow entrepreneurs for advice and feedback, also exalts wisdom from her own experience, “Understand your market, and ensure your solution addresses real, ongoing needs while being adaptable to future challenges. Stay agile and always be on the lookout for opportunities.” A way of thinking that has led ScribeWire to continued success through the past thirty years.
Most recently, ScribeWire leveraged Launch Lab’s Digital Lead Generators (DLG) Team to support the launch of its rebrand and new digital footprint. DLG played a pivotal role in helping plan and execute the public launch through email campaigns, Google and LinkedIn Ad campaigns, and a targeted social media strategy. This has supported the company’s realignment with the current technology landscape and will be foundational in continuing to scale ScribeWire’s customer base.
“Launch Lab has been instrumental in helping us navigate the complexities of rebranding and digital transformation,” remarked Woboditsch. “Their support, especially through the DLG team, has been invaluable in aligning our technology and marketing efforts to scale ScribeWire’s customer base.”
Keeping Human Connection in Media Accessibility
As ScribeWire continues to scale, it is looking to enter new markets, with specific interest in corporate, educational, and government sectors. To get there, the ScribeWire team is focused on building proprietary systems to better serve their clients with a full suite of accessibility solutions. From transcription to described video to website audits, ScribeWire has committed their services to combining the best human expertise for the job with the best cutting-edge technology.
It is clear that under Brooke Woboditsch’s leadership, ScribeWire will not lose sight of what makes it such a valuable organization. Acknowledging that media accessibility and trusted communication accuracy come from more than auto-transcription, it includes the understanding of the expert, cultural, and regional knowledge needed by the client that can only be fulfilled by a human connection.
“As we look ahead, ScribeWire will continue to push the boundaries of media accessibility, not just through cutting-edge technology but by fostering meaningful partnerships and staying rooted in our mission: to make media accessible, one line at a time.”
