Translation in the newsroom: Losing voices in multilingual newsflows. (1st October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Perrin, Daniel; Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen; Zampa, Marta
• Is Part Of: Journal of applied journalism and media studies. Volume 6:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 463
• Page End: 483
• Publication Date: 2017-10-01
• Subjects: Journalism -- Periodicals; Mass media -- Periodicals; 070.405
• DOI: 10.1386/ajms.6.3.463_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2001-0818

Abstract

The information, events and voices that receive media attention are highly dependent on their linguistic form – when the language is accessible to journalists, the news is more likely to enter public discourse. If the voices are in languages other than that of the region the journalist is writing for, then translation strategies can influence not only the news style but also the selection and perspectivation of the information presented. In this article, we discuss how working between languages inside the newsroom can endanger the flow of accurate information. Among other stakeholders, we focus on journalists as key gatekeepers in global and local newsflows who need to cope with cross-linguistic communication in their processes of news production. Initial analyses show that translation matters in the newsroom, but it is far from being part of systematic professional socialization or subject to quality measures.