USU's Hard News Café Now Offering Spanish Translations

The Hard News Café, the news Web site of the Utah State University department of journalism and communication, has begun offering Spanish translations of selected stories.

In August, four undergraduates at USU began translating and posting Spanish-language versions of news, features and sports stories of general interest, as well as stories from Cache Valley communities that have substantial Hispanic populations, said department head Mike Sweeney.

 

Recent stories in Spanish included a feature on financial planning for women; news from the city council meetings in Hyrum and Nibley; and a review of the new Celebration Centre amusement park.

 

The stories are linked, with Spanish-language headlines, to the main news page of the Hard News Café, as well as the indexes of various sections. Hard News Café stories also are accessed by keywords through Google.

 

“We think it’s the right thing to do, given the growing Hispanic population in Cache Valley,” Sweeney said. “We’d like to serve an audience that has long been underserved by the news media.”

 

Sweeney said the Spanish-language links and stories are accessed through the site’s English-language pages for now, but the department is exploring ways to redesign the site.

 

Sweeney said he would welcome Spanish-language announcements of upcoming events in Cache Valley for the site’s calendar. Readers should mail them to kcowweb@hass.usu.edu.

 

The Society of Professional Journalists named the Hard News Café the best all-around independent online student publication last year in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and El Paso County, Texas.