NY Times Hispanic Students Institute returns to FIU


Hispanic Journalism Students to Participate at FIU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications

MIAMI – For the second time in three years, Florida International University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host 20 of the country’s finest Hispanic journalism students as part of the prestigious New York Times Hispanic Student Journalism Institute.   From January 2-12, students will participate in a 10-day intensive program that will see them handle reporting, editing, photography and design/graphics duties in a training newsroom on FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus.

“FIU has an extraordinary journalism program, and its activities in working with Spanish-language journalists, both in the U.S. and abroad, have attracted lots of attention,” said Don Hecker, training editor for the Times Institute. “We’re looking forward to a long-term relationship with FIU.”

According to Editor and Publisher Magazine, “no school in the nation has more experience in teaching bilingual and Spanish-language journalism [than FIU] – a specialty that is urgently needed in the United States to fill the newspaper industry’s demand for journalists fully equipped to cover the exploding and highly diverse Hispanic population.”

Wilma Hernandez, an FIU senior dual-majoring in journalism and international relations, was selected among the competitive pool of applicants to take part in the institute, making her the seventh FIU student selected in three years – the most of any college or university in the U.S.  Recent institute alumni from FIU include Yolanne Almanzar, who is currently employed with the NY Times’ Miami Bureau, Cristela Guerra, a reporter for the Ft. Myers News Press, Jose Pagliery, a reporter for the Miami Herald, and Joshua Rey, who works with the statistics and analysis group at ESPN in Bristol, C.T.

The institute, which alternates between Arizona State University and FIU every other year, pays all expenses for students selected, including travel and lodging.  It is a cooperative program between the New York Times Company and various organizations for the benefit of their student members.

To learn more about the institute, visit http://www.nytimes-institute.com/about-the-institute/.

 -FIU-

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, FIU graduates more Hispanics than any other university in the country. Its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University.” In 2006 FIU was authorized to establish a medical school, which will welcome its first class in 2009. FIU’s College of Law recently received accreditation in the fastest time allowed by the American Bar Association.

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