Language editions are an opportunity to increase subscriptions and digital revenues for news media and magazines.

As internet platforms continue to dictate reach, there are some news organizations at the top of the bracket with great digital revenues and some not so great, while others seek the goodwill or donations of their audience.

Innovation is an opportunity for additional products that could ensure that people are willing to pay for side services of necessity, aside from basic reporting.

Language is an opportunity that a news media alliance or some group could power for others, as an industry collective, away from the power of the platforms.

Most people read the news on their devices. Outside breaking news, people have sections of preference: business, fashion, tech, sports, and so on. There are also news editions in several languages that some major media houses have: English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, German and so on.

Developing a platform for news in two languages, such that stories are displayed word-for-word, paragraph-by-paragraph, line-by-line, or phrase-by-phrase, or highlight-by-highlight, can become the most interesting way to learn a new language — by far.

People read news not to memorize it, but mostly for information. So the reading is not often done seriously. Adding a second language would bring to the mind, words, phrases and sentences in the other language, in a way that doesn’t seem like learning but the memory is picking it up.

Seeing the word, time after time, could lead to permanence that this word means in this language. There can also be advanced users — with pronunciations, or data of common words from the last few articles read, so the user takes note. The application would be developed in Android and iOS.

News organizations would have accounts on the application, to provide their contents to users — some free, most by subscription. News organizations without language editions can also have accounts, but the news would be translated for them. There will be a default language for users and variations for premium.

The eventual goal of this application is to learn, understand and remember whatever is learned in the new language. Some people travel to new places — or intend to, it would be a way to quickly begin to pick up new words and remember. It would also be useful for acquisition research, etc. 

It would be useful for visitors in a place, or relatives of visitors to follow the news, from back home. It can also increase access like for local news somewhere when there is a conflict or international news in another language for those in a location.

Learning a new language carries lots of advantages, including social, professional and cognitive.

There are so many ways to learn a new language, but retention is often hard. It is sometimes boring to learn — through the traditional means, discouraging many.

Learning can be easier, or seem less rigorous — if passive, with news. 

Retention can also be better with [say] subliminal repetition, from a regular activity as news.