Which article should this local Chinese newspaper translate? It’s crowdsourcing the answer

Here’s a cool take on engaging the reader: tell the Metro Chinese Weekly which story they should translate.

The news org, which covers the Philadelphia region’s Chinese community, normally publishes online and in print in Mandarin. But editor Steven Bole Yuan wanted to find a way to reach another audience. They’re using Google Forms to crowdsource the first story they’ll translate.

The language barrier is one that news outfits that cover ethnic communities often bump up against. AL DÍA, which covers Latino issues, made a decision last spring to translate every story it publishes online (on its new website). But not every media company has those resources.

Bole Yuan said he’ll use this as a test case for deciding if the Metro Chinese Weekly should become more bilingual.