The Runner en Español

Student-run newspaper publishes bilingual edition

By California State University, Bakersfield

September 25^th, 2023

Several journalists at the student-run California State University, Bakersfield newspaper will have a new audience for their stories when The Runner hits newsstands this week: Mom and Dad.

For the first time in recent memory — or perhaps ever — the award-winning English-language monthly will be translated into Spanish, opening access to a new demographic of readers, like the parents of editors-in-chief Haydee Barahona and Jennifer Serrano Ramirez.

“I come from a Spanish-speaking household,” Barahona said. “My mom is from Guatemala and my dad is from El Salvador. I grew up around the culture and wanted to embrace that. I shared that feeling with my fellow students at The Runner because a lot of their families could not read some of the issues they were taking home. We have so many students at CSUB where Spanish is their first language, and they come from the background I do.”

The front of the tabloid-size, 12-page newspaper will bear The Runner masthead and look similar to most issues, but flip it over and “The Runner” becomes “El Veloz” — not a strict translation of “roadrunner” but a representation of the mascot’s spirit, “which means fast,” Barahona said.

“Most is translated content,” said the communications major, 21. “We want to do more original content in Spanish. This is something I really wanted to try out since I’ve been on The Runner, and I thought we can start with this. I really want Hispanic and Latinx people on campus to feel represented in our coverage.”

Barahona, Ramirez and a few other staffers translated the content from English to Spanish for the September issue, which is being delivered to newsstands and other spots around campus on Sept. 25. The Runner had been entirely digital through the pandemic but resumed its printed publication last year, Barahona said.

The English/Spanish edition is the latest expression of ambition from the newsroom of about 40 students, who perform the entire spectrum of duties of a modern newsroom, including print journalism, video, photography, social media and podcasting. Editors would like to expand coverage beyond the CSUB campus to the greater community, said Barahona, who also serves as a fellow for her former Runner adviser Jennifer Burger at Sacramento-based CalMatters, a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization.

“There are so many Spanish speakers here in Bakersfield and the smaller towns,” said Barahona, who is set to graduate in May. “Since we’re starting to become one of the largest newsrooms in Kern County or Bakersfield, it makes me think we should extend our coverage.”

For now, she and her staff are eager to gauge the reaction to their current issue of The Runner.

“I have been thinking about it for a while,” she said. “When I first started at The Runner, I wasn’t in that position. As I have moved up the ladder, I thought I wanted to do this, and not just to be able to serve my fellow classmates, but everyone on campus and hopefully, one day soon, everyone in our community.”