FIU launches program in Hispanic Communication Studies

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) at Florida International University has created a program of Hispanic Communication Studies to address communication trends and issues relevant to the U.S. Hispanic community.

The new program builds upon an already-existing set of courses taught at the FIU SJMC covering Hispanic market communication and Spanish language journalism.   It will be headed by the SJMC Department Chairs:  Teresa Ponte, Chair of the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting, and Fernando Figueredo, Chair of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations.

“It makes sense to establish this program at FIU, since Miami is home to the most important Hispanic broadcast-media outlets as well as a large and diverse Hispanic community,” said Ponte.  “We have become a feeder school to the news media as well as to public relations and advertising agencies recruiting Hispanics to address the fastest-growing minority segment in the U.S.,” she added.

Figueredo added that FIU’s location, as well as the significant number of award-winning Hispanic professors on the faculty puts the school in an unique position to establish such a program.

“Seventy percent of the students we graduate at the SJMC are of Hispanic heritage, and university wide at FIU, we graduate more Hispanic students than any other university in the country,” said Figueredo.

In the future, the SJMC plans to transition this initiative into an institute focused on the analysis of communications issues and trends impacting the U.S. Hispanic community.  It will include projects such as a series of seminars with distinguished speakers from around the country as well as an annual conference to discuss the issues surrounding the evolution of the Hispanic media.  In addition, it plans to further the university’s internationally-focused research agenda by delving into issues such as how Hispanics consume and interpret news and information.