Shorthand for Journalists: Do You Still Need It?

The magistrate says it once, quickly, and moves on: "a sentence that has to mark how serious this was." Your phone is switched off in your bag, because bringing a recorder into a court in England and Wales without permission is contempt of court. Whatever lands on your notepad in the next three seconds is the quote. (This is a composite scene, not a real case.)

Most reporters record almost everything now. So trainees ask a fair question: is shorthand for journalists still worth months of drills? It depends on where you report. This guide covers Teeline and the NCTJ 100 wpm standard, a table that answers the question situation by situation, a 30-item abbreviation set, and a way to tie your notes to your recordings.

If most of your interviews happen where recording is allowed, get ParrotNotes free and let your phone handle the verbatim record while your pen handles the moments it can't.

Do journalists still need shorthand?

Some do, and most benefit. Shorthand is essential if you plan to report from courts in the UK, or anywhere else a recorder isn't allowed. In UK training, the NCTJ says 100 wpm improves your employment prospects. If you work mainly on features, long interviews or broadcast, a good recording habit plus fast longhand often covers the job.

Its job is narrower than it was. It's no longer your only verbatim record. It's your backup, your court tool and your fastest way to mark the moment a quote happens.

What shorthand for journalists is: Teeline and the rest

Shorthand is any system that writes words faster than ordinary handwriting by replacing letters and words with simpler strokes. Older systems such as Pitman and Gregg write by sound. Teeline, created by James Hill in 1968, works from the ordinary alphabet: letters are stripped down to their simplest strokes, and most vowels inside a word are dropped.

Teeline is the system UK journalism settled on. The NCTJ, which accredits journalism training in the UK, describes it as "the most popular shorthand system" and "a key feature of the majority of NCTJ-accredited journalism courses." So the best shorthand for journalists is the one your course and colleagues use, and in the UK that's Teeline.

The 100 wpm standard and the NCTJ exam

Here's where the "100 words per minute" number comes from, as the NCTJ states it (checked October 5, 2026):

• It's an elective. "Shorthand for journalists" is an optional 14-credit module in the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism.
• 60 wpm passes, 100 wpm is the gold standard. If you take shorthand, a pass needs at least 60 wpm. The diploma's "gold standard" needs 100 wpm.
• 100 wpm matters for jobs. The NCTJ says 100 wpm "will improve your employment prospects" and is essential for the news pathway of the National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ).
• The exam is short and strict. The national shorthand exams use four minutes of recorded dictation. At 100 wpm it comes in three passages with a 3% error tolerance, and a key quote in the final passage must be identified and transcribed accurately.
• External candidates sit exams three times a year, in October, February and June, at 60 and 100 wpm.

That key-quote rule says it all. Nobody needs pretty outlines. They need the line in the story to be exactly right.

The 100 wpm benchmark is a UK (NCTJ) standard. Elsewhere, ask the editors you want to work for what they expect before you commit months to it.

Where shorthand still wins

Courts and some hearings. Section 9 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 makes it contempt to use or bring a sound recorder into court in England and Wales "except with the leave of the court." In US federal criminal courts, Rule 53 bars photographs and broadcasting from the courtroom. State and local court rules on devices vary, so check the court's own rules before you go.

When the recording fails. Batteries die, files corrupt, a lav mic slips. Shorthand notes taken alongside a recording mean a failed file costs you an evening, not the story.

The remark after the recorder stops. People relax once the phone goes away. If they say something worth quoting, your notes are the record; confirm they're happy to be quoted.

Shorthand, recording or both: a table by situation

Before you record a phone call or an in-person interview in the US, check the state's consent law in our guide to one-party consent states. If you're weighing notebook against phone more broadly, the decision table in reporter notebook vs voice notes goes assignment by assignment, and which recording device to carry covers the hardware side.

No time to learn a system? A 30-item abbreviation starter set

Reaching 100 wpm takes sustained daily practice, and not every working reporter learns a full system. A personal set of abbreviations won't get you through an NCTJ exam, but it lets you get more of what matters onto the page while someone talks. Learn these 30, then add your beat's own words.

Three rules: always write names, numbers and the key quote in full. Box anything you'll need to check. Use the same abbreviation every time, so your notes still make sense in three weeks.

Daniel's council meeting (a composite, not a real reporter): Daniel covers a two-hour planning meeting with no shorthand and only this set. He records on his phone, writes "** cncl chr: 'not one more tower block'" when the chair says it, and boxes a figure he isn't sure of. That night he files from his notes, checks the boxed figure against the agenda, and plays back only the 30 seconds around his double asterisk.

The timestamp margin: tie your notes to the recording

This method makes shorthand and recording work together. Draw a narrow column down the left of each notebook page. When something worth quoting is said, glance at the recording timer and write the elapsed time in the margin next to your note: "23:40 ** budget 'a fantasy'."

Afterwards you don't hunt. Jump to 23:40 in the audio, or search the transcript for the word you wrote, and check the exact words. That's the step every quote needs anyway, and our guide to how to quote an interview walks through checking it word for word against the audio.

With ParrotNotes, you record on the phone in your pocket, no meeting bot, no extra device, and recording works offline. Once you're connected, you get a transcript you can search, an AI summary on every recording, and you can ask questions of a single transcript to find the moment you marked. If you want to compare transcription tools first, see transcription software for journalists.

Your notes mark the moment, your phone keeps the words. Download ParrotNotes and pair your next notebook with a searchable transcript.

Priya's press conference (a composite): the police spokesperson gives a 20-minute briefing. Priya records and writes six timestamped lines. She files a 300-word update from those six lines, then checks each quote against the transcript. One note said "40"; the audio said "14". The timestamp let her catch it in under a minute.

If you decide to learn: a weekly practice routine

Heading for an NCTJ course or a court beat? Build this routine around a textbook. The NCTJ recommends Teeline Gold Standard for Journalists by Marie Cartwright, which takes learners from beginner to 100 wpm. This is a suggested structure, not a promise of how fast you'll get there.

1. Daily theory, 20 minutes. Learn new outlines and special forms from the book. Write each one out until you can do it without looking.
2. Daily dictation, 20 minutes. Take dictation from recorded passages a little faster than your comfortable speed. To make your own passages, the free speech time calculator tells you how many words fit into a minute at the pace you choose.
3. Read back the same day. Transcribe what you wrote. Outlines you can't read back don't count.
4. Weekly test. Once a week, take a four-minute passage at your target speed and mark it against the 3% error tolerance the NCTJ exam uses.
5. Use it on the job. Take shorthand notes in every recorded interview. The recording tells you exactly where your outlines broke down.

Shorthand for journalists: learn what your beat needs

Shorthand for journalists isn't dead, but its job has changed:

• Courts and recorder-free rooms: shorthand is the record. Aim for the NCTJ's 100 wpm if that's your beat.
• Everywhere else: record, and use notes to mark the moments that matter.
• No time for a full system: a consistent abbreviation set gets you most of the way.
• Every quote: tie it to a timestamp, then check it against the audio.

For a wider view of what software can take off your plate, see AI for journalists.

Keep your pen for the court and the corridor. Get ParrotNotes free and let every recorded interview become a transcript you can search before your deadline.