Pat on the back 2020

ProPublica

ProPublica, ‘an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest’ also became big proponents of plain English in 2020.

They began to use ‘plain English translations’. Although ideally the news stories they publish would already be written in plain English, they at least now often offer a clearer option, alongside the original.

ProPublica’s news translation is the first time such a service has been offered in such a way. Previously, we’ve seen Braille and audio services offered by the likes of The New York Times for disabled readers. Perhaps ProPublica can set a trend? At the very least, the value of a plain-language version of a story is now much more evident.