The Commonwealth Times Staff
The Commonwealth Times began publishing select news articles in Spanish in August — a change that was made to meet the needs of our audience at a time when the government won’t.
The CT’s first Spanish-language article covered an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, protest at city hall.
The event advocated for immigrants — many of whom are members of Richmond’s Spanish-speaking community. Our article was the only coverage written in the language they speak most comfortably.
Over 18,000 Richmonders speak Spanish at home. With our coverage, we sought to meet the language needs of our audience as understanding each other continues to prove most vital. It came in the context of deep stressors hitting the city — including ICE raids and threats to public services.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has limited the accessibility of government information through the elimination of the White House Spanish-language webpage and the government’s Spanish social media pages.
As access to knowledge is restricted to particular groups for political reasons, it is more pertinent than ever for news publications to do what they can to provide coverage.
The gap in access to local information for large swaths of Virginia is undeniable, and any step the CT can take to close that gap constitutes a step towards our mission to serve the Richmond and VCU communities. We want our audience to connect to our coverage, and if they cannot because of a language barrier, then we are doing something wrong.
As much as technology has advanced the process of translation, the art of meeting an audience where they are through language remains a largely handmade endeavor. As such, our ability to do so depends on the work of passionate and competent students hoping to practice in and contribute to language access.
Spanish and English are far from being the only languages spoken among VCU students and Richmonders — but the large number of Spanish speakers allows us assurance that we are reaching as many people as we can within our capacity. The news media can and should respond to the continuously changing linguistic landscape.
Moving forward, The CT will strive to publish at least one article a week in both English and Spanish, with a continued focus on stories of importance to Spanish-speaking Richmonders. We will take any opportunity to make our coverage accessible to those who need it.
Editor’s Note: Staff editorials by The Commonwealth Times are written and edited by all members of staff. The content of editorials is voted on by staff members and must be unanimously agreed-upon ahead of publication.