Innovative Spanish Translation News Service in New Jersey gets renewed funding
NJ Civic Information Consortium commits $75K to expand program
The NJ News Commons Spanish Translation News Service will be extended for another year, thanks to funding from the NJ Civic Information Consortium. The program aims to make statewide reporting originally produced in English more accessible to news organizations that serve Spanish-speaking communities in New Jersey.
The new grant of $75,000 will allow for an increase in the amount of weekly translated stories, as well as more bilingual translators. The grant will also help in establishing partnerships with more news organizations covering breaking news and doing investigative reporting in New Jersey.
The program, which started in August 2022, has been funded in part by a $50,000 grant from the NJ Civic Information Consortium, along with support from Democracy Fund.
To date the partner news organizations have reported that the program has had a positive impact on their content and readership. In addition, the service has helped to narrow information gaps and build collaborative partners between the state’s major English- and most trusted Spanish-language news outlets.
“This has greatly helped [my publication] and 10 other partners — and such a renewal will even help our own content as well as the Latino communities that we serve in New Jersey,” said Kleibeel Marcano, editor of Reporte Hispano.
The 11 partner news organizations include:
- NorthJersey.com
- NJ Advance Media/NJ.com
- Asbury Park Press
- Press of Atlantic City
- NJ Spotlight News/NJ PBS
- Front Runner New Jersey
- The Latino Spirit
- New Jersey Hispano
- Americano Newspaper
- CATA Radio
- Reporte Hispano
Between August 2022 and July 2023, nearly 200 news stories and opinion pieces were translated into Spanish and those stories were then republished 450 times in both English- and Spanish-language publications in New Jersey.
That means, on a weekly basis, an average of four statewide stories originally produced in English were translated into Spanish. These stories were then republished by at least 12 different English- and Spanish-language news sites.
“We are thrilled at the Spanish-language translation project, which has helped our media partners to better serve their audiences and address information gaps. This project renewal, along with the grant increase, is so important and timely for the upcoming elections,” said Cassandra Etienne, assistant director of programs at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. “Latino voters in the state still need access to voting information in Spanish. Language access not only helps Spanish-speaking audiences to understand the election processes, but it also helps them cast informed votes — and, ultimately, increase voter participation and help ensure equitable elections.”
These translated stories focus on issues that matter to the more than 2 million Latinos in the state — an estimated 73 percent of whom speak or read Spanish at home. The content has featured topics such as elections and politics, immigration, education and health.
Due to language barriers and the lack of nuanced and informed reporting from their languages and perspectives, many Latino immigrants in the state are at the bottom of the news chain. And with limited translated news information, if any, from state and federal health agencies, these already marginalized audiences are more vulnerable to disinformation.
Over time, the number of partner news organizations has increased. When the project first started, there were only three English- and four Spanish-language partners. As of May 2023, partners now consist of five and six English- and Spanish-language news organizations, respectively. Recently, three more English-language publications and radio stations have expressed interest in joining the project.
“The translation project is so beneficial for the newspaper. But the biggest beneficiary is our community,” said Maricarmen Amado, publisher of New Jersey Hispano.
Anthony “Oni” Advincula is the ethnic and community media coordinator at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. Contact him at advinculaa@montclair.edu.
About the Center for Cooperative Media: The Center is a primarily grant-funded program of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. Its mission is to grow and strengthen local journalism, and in doing so serve New Jersey residents. The Center is supported with operational and project funding from Montclair State University, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Democracy Fund, NJ Civic Information Consortium, Rita Allen Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation and the Independence Public Media Foundation. For more information, visit centerforcooperativemedia.org.
