Press Room
ATA Media Activities
ATA Public Relations Committee Brings Translation and Interpreting Issues to the Radio
In December of last year, the ATA Public Relations Committee was invited to participate in a one-hour web-based radio program run by MyTechnologyLawyer, a site with a special focus on businesses in the technology industry.
This show had such a significant listener response that ATA was invited back for six more weekly features, beginning February 19 and running through March 30. This will give ATA a unique opportunity to increase our visibility and to speak to a large and diverse business audience about ATA, its membership, and the translation and interpreting profession on a consistent basis over the next six weeks.
The MyTechnologyLawyer radio show has a listener-subscriber base of over 20,000 members in the tech industry and includes vendors, buyers, bankers, lawyers and accountants. Recent shows have included interviews with the Society for Technical Communication, California State University, TechForum, and many others.
We encourage you to listen to that first show from December 14, 2005, featuring ATA President Marian S. Greenfield, ATA Public Relations Committee Co-Chairs Chris Durban and Kevin Hendzel, and PR Committee members Lillian Clementi and Cindy Roat. Additional programs on translation and interpreting issues were recorded weekly from Sunday, February 19, to Thursday, March 30.
In other efforts, the ATA PR Committee continues to promote professional translation and interpreting to customers, clients, and the general public through its outreach to the media.
Being Bilingual Is Not Enough
"Spreading the Word on Translation" (Business Week Online: February 16, 2006) contains a detailed discussion on why "being bilingual isn't enough" in providing interpreting services to hospital personnel. ATA PR Committee members Chris Durban, Cindy Roat, and Esther Diaz combine their considerable talents in outlining best practices for interpreters, including subject knowledge, training, ethics, and other key areas. This magazine reaches an important demographic — the business users of our services — and educates them on why shortcuts can be painful and counterproductive. The article also references the ATA website with the online directory.
Scientific American Explores the Current State of Machine Translation
The March 2006 issue of Scientific American contains an article on the current state of machine translation (MT) and the promise of future developments in statistical MT methods. The writer consulted early on with ATA PR Co-Chair Kevin Hendzel on the direction of this article. Kevin is quoted on the hype and limitations of MT, as well as proper applications, which are then validated by other individuals in the article. This prestigious magazine is a trend-setter in the scientific community and ATA's visibility and role in this article are important in the Association's mission to educate the public on the importance of professional translation and the limits of MT.
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