This paper explores the role of translation in the informational era (Webster 2006a, 2006b; Castells 2009, 2010a, 2010b). The first section surveys the place of informative texts within Translation Studies, starting with Reiss’s (1976) text type taxonomy. The second section discusses the concept of the informational society, as characteristic of the trend towards globalization brought about by technological advances, with particular attention to the spread of the Internet and the marketization of information. This is related to the explosion of news and information outlets that attempt to reach a global market. The final section turns specifically to the role of translation vis-à-vis the informational society, and mentions the problems arising from the invisible activity of translation rather than the invisibility of the professionals, since the producers of many of these media texts do not even consider themselves translators.