What do you think about dailies?

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I have been put on two dailies next week. I personally think you can make more money not taking dailies and working the next day. For me, writing 230+ pages, I have to take the next day off to get the job out. You lose money having to do that. I would rather just work four straight depos instead and maybe have a couple of them expedite for three days or something.

I am in no way complaining about the work. I am happy to have the job, but was just curious how everyone feels about daily work.

[Janiece Young]

Kelli,
I totally agree with you.
Janiece

[Mary Ann Payonk]

Hi, Kelli! Most, and I mean 90% of my work is next-day delivery ... what I call a daily. For me, I need to get the transcript into the reporting firm before I turn in that night so that the early-morning crew can print it out as soon as they come in in the morning. Pushing it, I'd say, would be getting it in by 9 a.m. In my mind, next-day delivery means it's on the atty's desk or e-mail the next morning, not at the end of the day. I do a few 2-day delivery jobs during the year, but the next most often requested delivery i do is same-day, which goes to the client just as soon as it's finished at the end of the day. Depending on the day, sometimes I can get them out almost immediately. Some, it may take until 9 or 10 p.m. to get it to the reporting firm for production. Coupled with the fact that 99% of everything I do is realtime, and video as well, it's a pretty demanding schedule ... but the question is, What do you think about dailies? I love doing daily copy when I have even the minimal amount of cooperation among the parties and the witness as to not talking overtop of each other, not trying to break the speed limit, and giving me a break every hour to hour and a half so I don't get overtired too early in the day.

Another comment I have about daily copy is that there are a ton of reporters in the country who can do daily copy, and they do it often, and they do it well. They are paid handsomely for their effort to crank out the transcript, sometimes instantaneously. We all know of the growing trend of reporting firms trying to get reporters to provide realtime a rough drafts for no charge, things that are truly specialties within the profession. And a whole heck of a lot less reporters can provide readable realtime and pristine rough drafts than can crank out that overnight ... yet can you even imaging the uproar that would occur if firms stopped paying for expedited delivery? It just seems that the trend is happening with RT and RD, and there's no great uproar when there actually should be, IMO. Take away those expedited fees, however, and a whole lot of reporters would revolt. Again, my opinion only.

Happy New Year, Kelli.

M.A.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I get my dailies in usually by 10:30 a.m. I have seen some dailies with tons of typos. I want to read every word. That is why I take the next day off because as we all know, when you are in a hurry, we all make mistakes. Since we are getting paid a premium, the product should look as though that is what it is.

You get an attitional 3.50 (maybe more) a page for a daily. If you work the next day, you are making average 7.00 a page for a job. Now mind you, these are rates through the agency I work for, not my own clients. I would rather work the next day for the 7.00 instead of taking the day off to make that extra 3.50 more. I am talking your average O & 2 with roughs.

I know there are reporters out there that will say, "Well, I can take a 250 page job and turn it in the same day. Well, I do not believe that job is as clean as you think. There will be typos. I want the extra time to make sure there are no typos.

Oh, and 10 years ago when I was young and naive I gave away my RT and roughs for free because I did not know I had a choice. I worked in Southern California for Maxene Weinberg Agency and that is what they expected and I did not know enough to say, "No way!!"

I guess live and learn.

[Jennie Ann]

It seems like every job I do is a daily. I'm always racing against the clock! LOL

[Rachel Gard]

In Chicago, because our page rate is considerably less than California, I do like all-day dailies, even if I have to take off the next day because it almost comes out the same if I work the next day or stay home to do a daily. I edit a daily the same as I do other jobs, although maybe just a bit faster, and my proofreader is being fed 30 pages at a time and pretty much keeps up with me. So I'd rather do a daily and stay home the next day because I'm usually done with it by noon and have made about the same amount of money as working two days. But...I think if I were in California making those page rates, I'd totally agree 100% with Kelli.

[Janet]

I love dailies. I work with a scopist and send the file to her at every break. I am way beyond staying up all night working on them myself. I just can't do that anymore. I will get up early in the morning to proofread and send the file in, and I can still take a job the next day.

I prefer working like that and having no backlog.