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Part of
Journalism and Translation in the Era of Convergence
Edited by Lucile Davier and Kyle Conway
[Benjamins Translation Library 146] 2019
► pp. 135–153

Chapter 6
Globalization of the emerging media newsroom

Implications for translation and international news flow in the case of BuzzFeed Japan

Recent technological advances have fuelled the emergence of online media sites such as BuzzFeed, which disseminates news content across multiple platforms. Characterized by its global network, BuzzFeed relies on translation to facilitate the constant exchange of content between regions. At BuzzFeed Japan, BuzzFeed’s newest international edition at the time of writing, journalists are adapting to meet novel demands for translated multimedia content. Seldom required of conventional media journalists in Japan, news translation in the Japanese context is relatively unexplored but increasingly relevant (Matsushita 2016). Through interviews with key players of the newsroom and a full-staff survey, this chapter investigates BuzzFeed Japan’s news translation practices, highlighting journalists’ diversifying roles. It also suggests the possibility of media convergence increasing news flow from Japan to the rest of the world.
Keywords: news translation, journalism, Japanese, multiplatform, online media
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.News translation practices at BuzzFeed Japan
    • 2.1BuzzFeed
    • 2.2BuzzFeed Japan
      • 2.2.1Company history
      • 2.2.2Newsroom staff
      • 2.2.3Translation activities
    • 2.3Methodology
      • 2.3.1Full-staff Survey
      • 2.3.2In-depth interview
  • 3.What is happening in the newsroom?
    • 3.1Cross-platform translation
    • 3.2Global distribution and translation
    • 3.3Impact on news flow
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 24 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.146.06mat
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Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Davier, Lucile
2022. Translating News. In The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, ► pp. 401 ff. DOI logo
Martín Ruano, M. Rosario
2021. Towards alternatives to mechanistic models of translation in contemporary journalism. Language and Intercultural Communication 21:3 ► pp. 395 ff. DOI logo
Zanettin, Federico
2021. News Media Translation, DOI logo
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2020. Journalistic translation research goes global: theoretical and methodological considerations five years on. Perspectives 28:3 ► pp. 325 ff. DOI logo
Valdeón, Roberto A.
2023. Automated translation and pragmatic force. Babel. Revue internationale de la traduction / International Journal of Translation DOI logo

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