Students work to release third edition of bilingual newspaper

Students in journalism and Spanish at ETSU work with local Hispanic residents in Johnson County to release the third edition of the bilingual newspaper, El Nuevo.
The paper gives Spanish-speaking people in the area a chance to let their voices be heard in the community.
It also gives English-speaking people to see a part of a different culture they normally they wouldn’t be exposed to.
“By the time people get through they will have the experience working on a bilingual paper,” said Jack Mooney, program coordinator. Mooney, who teaches journalism at ETSU, thinks this will help students in their future careers. It gives journalism students a familiarity with Spanish and Spanish students with journalism.
The students work in teams of one reporter, a photographer and a translator. The teams interview local Hispanic residents to gather information for their stories and take photographs to accompany the stories.
Another benefit of the program is that it introduces students to the growing Hispanic culture that exists in the region.
“It was surprising to see such a richness of Spanish culture in such a rural area as Shady Valley,” said John Palmer Gregg, a photography student who traveled to Johnson County with his team last weekend.
El Nuevo is in its third year. So far, Unicoi and Hawkins counties have been selected areas. “Hawkins County wants us to do it again,” Mooney said. “We have several years to look forward to doing this again.”
Next year the paper will feature Hamblen County.
The project is part of the ETSU Expanding Community Partnership Program and is funded by the grant from the Kellogg Foundation.
It is maintained by the Language and Cultural Resource Committee, which is under the ECPP.
The paper is published by a local newspaper in the county where El Nuevo will be distributed.
The bilingual newspaper is released annually. It is an ongoing process for the fall and spring semesters and is released at the end of April or beginning of May.
For more information on El Nuevo, contact Mooney at 439-4168 or by e-mail at mooneyj@etsu.edu.