I had this exchange with someone over at Mock El Paso Times.
Brutus Ep What are our chances of El Diario publishing an English edition — even if only once a week?
Reynaldo Rivera Talked with Ivan, the editor. He states there aren’t enough English subscribers. So until then?
Reynaldo Rivera … there aren’t enough English subscribers. I don’t know the number required to start an English version. He is or was looking for reporter with excellent English. As he wants accuracy in the articles. So lets get off our duffs and start contacting el Diario.
I respect the reporting I read in El Diario. It seems to me that we need to call them and express our interest.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
I spoke with the same gentleman at the gym several months ago regarding an English version of El Diario. He did say that he had a nephew majoring in journalism at the University of Florida as I recall. He said that he would love his nephew to come back to this area and consider an English El Diario. I will talk to him again to see when his nephew expects to matriculate, and if he has expressed any interest in taking on such an endeavor.
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Let’s see — the periodical is in Spanish and there aren’t enough English subscribers— Is Duhhh! applicable here ?
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Not enough English subscribers? How many of us read and speak both English and Spanish and read El Diario? There’s the starter group, for one. The next step is not a full blown El Diario, but how about a few key pages with Spanish on one side and the English translation next to it. Another possibility is maybe a couple of full blown pages in solamente Ingles. Somewhere along the process there will be Spanish readers who would love to learn English and having the chance to read some articles in English, with the Spanish translation right there, would not only inform them of the news, but also it would help them on their way to bilingual literacy…que no? English readers working on their Spanish and vice versa! Sweet win-win-and a third win for El Diaro!
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First, several of these comments infer that some folks are hoping for another traditional, “ink on paper” newspaper from Diario. If so, it’s time for a reality check. The Boston Globe recently sold for about a third or less of what was paid for it a few years earlier. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos just picked up the Washington Post for lunch money and they probably threw in the presses for free. And you’re not reading this “story” at the expense of a tree.
Based on Ivan’s response, even he and Diario are out of touch and digitally challenged. It’s really quite simple. If Diario really wants to attract and serve the English-speaking market, they could for minimal cost publish an online edition in English. Or they could simply use Google tools to put language translation buttons on their website, making it more accessible and friendly to English-speaking readers.
For that matter, you don’t even need Diario to come into the 21st century. People who are enamored with El Diario.can read it online now using their Google Chrome browser which also has a translation feature. One quick click and a page goes from Spanish to English or vice versa. The translations are not perfect mind you, but ironically the errors in machine translation might fix some of the poor grammar and typos found in both the Times and Diario. (I say that half jokingly and half seriously.)
Few, if any, new publications of significance will be launched in the future using traditional ink on paper publishing and distribution. At the end of the day, however, solid news reporting is not about paper or pixels. It’s about the quality of the thinking, writing and editing. Today, content including news is increasingly user/reader generated. Sit back and enjoy — or get involved. Brutus chose the latter, which is apparently why his tongue is hanging out. My guess is that he’s finding that this business of news takes a lot of time and hard work. And if you insist on killing and delivering trees, you better have a bunch of money.
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Grinch!
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Down, boy. Good dog. I admire your loyalty, enthusiasm and hard work. Now, get back to your guard post and continue to protect the local citizenry.
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