I’ve spent hundreds of hours transcribing taped interviews. It’s probably the most tedious thing I do. You often retrace parts over and over, trying to figure out what exactly the person said. One time, as I started interviewing a pastor in a church vestibule, somebody began ringing the church bell. That one was real fun. Probably five minutes of interview and 30 minutes of transcribing.
When people talk–TV shows, sermons, everyday conversations–I often mentally put it in written form. Was that a sentence break? Period or comma? Dash? Quotes or not? Stuff like that. I can’t help myself. Always an editor.
So I sympathize with the poor schmuck who must transcribe President Trump’s spoken words (and since he’s president, SOMEBODY must). Every word of every crazy rally must be transcribed, as a record of history. Imagine doing that. Transcribing President Obama would have been a breeze, but putting President Trump’s words on paper must be nightmarish.
As a small example, consider this July 15 interview, in which the President is really confused about the geography of the British Isles. Somebody had to get it in this form, and it couldn’t have been easy.
“We would make a great deal with the United Kingdom because they have product that we like. I mean they have a lot of great product. They make phenomenal things, you know, and you have different names — you can say ‘England,’ you can say ‘UK,’ you can say ‘United Kingdom’ so many different — you know you have, you have so many different names — Great Britain. I always say: ‘Which one do you prefer? Great Britain?’ You understand what I’m saying?”
That, to me, is a remarkable piece of transcribing.
