SJMC, Media Hub of the Americas team up to improve communication of U.S. foreign policy


Journalism professors, diplomats and other media professionals will meet in the coming months to better media relations between the United States and Latin America.

In May, the third Spanish-Speaking Spokespeople Training Workshop will return to the FIU School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

US Diplomats Attend Third SJMC Workshop“If you don’t understand the context of Latin America, you’ll misuse it,” said Leonardo Ferreira, SJMC professor and coordinator of the country’s first Spanish-language master’s program in journalism.

The training session will include Ferreira and three colleagues of the SJMC faculty, about half a dozen U.S. diplomats stationed in Latin American countries, and U.S. Department of State officers working out of Washington, D.C., all of whom are Spanish speakers.

The collaboration is an effort between Media Hub of the Americas — a Miami-based hub of the Department of State’s Bureau of Public Affairs — and SJMC to improve the communication of U.S. foreign policy to Spanish language and Latin American media outlets.

Ferreira said the workshops allow SJMC faculty, who have worked as media professionals in Latin America, to provide diplomats with historical context. He said the United States is a skills-based society, but without the conceptual understanding of a country, media resources can be misused. At the workshops, SJMC professors share with participants their knowledge and experience of the countries diplomats report on.

“We give them our own perspectives as Latin Americans,” said Ferreira.

Professors, in turn, receive an exclusive look at how foreign policy is created.

Ferreira said the workshops provide professors with an opportunity to enrich the classroom with their broadened understanding of politics and social issues.

“Although Miami is becoming global,” said Ferreira, “professors are not necessarily more global.”

The first day of the workshop is theoretical training while the following two days are spent training diplomats in practical interviewing skills in the SJMC TV studio.

Two diplomats are paired with a faculty member and coached in four interview styles. The exercise includes on-camera interviews with Miami reporters.

Justen Thomas, director of the Media Hub of the Americas and the person who sought to collaborate with FIU, said diplomats are trained in mock interviews to improve their Spanish communication with journalists.

“We want more of our diplomats feeling comfortable,” said Thomas.

The benefits of the workshop are expected to grow with future participants.

Ferreira said three FIU Spanish-language graduate students attended the first meeting, enjoying a valuable learning and networking opportunity.

The question Ferreira faces now is how to incorporate more student involvement into the actual workshop.

By Sofia Galiano/ Staff Writer