Project Americas: Mexico and Central America              Media DocumentsPDF File

 

Project Americas: Mexico Background

Project Americas seeks to work with foreign universities, institutions, and media organizations from Mexico, Central America, and across the hemisphere to strengthen and develop media and participative systems through the development of communication skills, media systems, and regional/local programs to help build stronger communities, societies, and democracies.  Other areas of focus include collaborative efforts with universities in Mexico and Central America in areas such as the development of tourism, public safety campaigns and the development of disaster response (e.g. earthquake preparedness), as well as issues related to the border and migration. Currently the Maxwell Center and the College of Communications at California State University Fullerton have partnered with CETYS university in Baja-California with campuses in Ensenada, Mexicali, and Tijuana for the development of collaborative global education programs and on projects related to research, professional development, and strengthening communities. These projects include:

  • Global Education/Study Abroad programs focused on communications, tourism, and engineering.
  • Marketing Migration 2019-2021: This project seeks to interview migrants in the US, Mexico, and El Salvador to determine the "on the ground" messages as well as the media and social media messages that they have received which motivated or which is designed to motivate them to attempt to dangerous migration to the United States. Key to this project is the focus on those migrants who have entered Mexico or the United States because they are a sample of individuals who actually acted on the messages that they received.

 

The Journalism Institute of the Americas (JIA): Mexico and Latin America

Originally funded in part by a grant from the Knight Foundation, The Journalism Institute of the Americas (JIA) seeks to increase a sustainable free flow of information, and the development of independent and objective news in Mexico and across the Americas by improving the reporting skills of young journalists in the areas of safe journalism, modern professional journalistic techniques, digital journalism, and the use of social media to disseminate information. According to the Center for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) Mexico and Latin America lead the world in terms of danger to journalists, the root of which is narco-trafficking and the corruption that often accompanies it. This program seeks funding to provide workshops on safe journalism, digital journalism, and the use of social media to support journalism to be held in Southern California. Key to the success of this program will be the creation of an on-going training program that mixes journalists from across the Americas with those from countries with dangerous press environments. This method will serve as a first step to allow these journalists to attend the workshops while lowering the probability that they would be targeted for their participation.

Program Format & Logistics

The goal of this journalism training based project is to increase the effectiveness of objective news reporting in counties such as Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador by improving the reporting skills of young journalists in the areas of:

  • Safe reporting techniques
  • The development of independent and objective news and news stories
  • Digital reporting for the internet and the use of social media to support journalism 
  • Professional journalism and journalistic ethics

 

PROJECT AMERICAS PAST PROGRAMS

Project Americas: The Journalist Institute of the Americas- Cuba 2012-2016                     Media Documents

The Journalism Institute of the Americas (JIA)

Funded in part by a grant from the Knight Foundation, The Journalism Institute of the Americas (JIA) sought to increase a sustainable free flow of information, and the development of independent and objective news in Cuba by improving the reporting skills of young journalists in the areas of modern professional journalistic techniques, digital journalism, and the use of social media to disseminate information. This program was unique in that it leveraged a relationship with the University of Havana to deliver training in an attractive and less political Southern California media market, provides access to trained Latino journalists and educators, and provides training in digitally advanced educational facilities. JIA Cuba focused on young Cuban journalists and initially the faculty from the University of Havana that provide instruction to them. Demographically youth make up a large part of Cuban society, and will have increasing influence as they move through adulthood, and similar to youth across the hemisphere, they gravitate towards technology, the use of social media, and have a desire to tell their stories. From a long-term perspective these young Cuban journalists will come from the nations’ top journalism school, and are considered to be “part of the system,” which will add credibility to the news and stories they produce.

Program Format & Logistics

The goal of this journalism training based project was  to increase the effectiveness of news reporting in Cuba by improving the reporting skills of young journalists in the areas of digital reporting for the internet, social media support of news, and modern professional journalistic techniques. This program began by training faculty from the University of Havana (“Train the Trainer”) as well as younger journalists who are teaching while completing graduate degrees. This collaborative training program for young Cuban journalists and faculty from the University of Havana focused on:

  • The development of independent and objective news and news stories
  • Digital reporting for the internet and the use of social media to support journalism 
  • Professional journalism and journalistic ethics

Collaborative Journalism Education Exchange Program 2012-2016

This goal of this project was to build a collaborative journalism exchange program that would bring 10-12 journalism students and a faculty member from the University of Havana in Cuba to Cal State Fullerton for a two (2) week training program.  While at the university the Cubans worked and collaborated with journalism students and faculty from Cal State Fullerton's student media program to learn about the development of digital media, student media, citizen journalism, social media support of journalism. A second phase of the program was to send Cal State Fullerton faculty and students to the University of Havana to work with their their cuban colleagues and to produce stories and documentaries about cuban culture and society. However, this portion of the program was not able to be completed.

Journalism Training Program December 2014

A seven (7) day training program included a mix of nine (9) graduate students, educators and professional journalists from Cuba. The program included top journalism faculty, print journalists/editors, and broadcast journalists from the Cuban media system.  This program:

  • Delivered training in Spanish to students and faculty from Cuba using professional journalists who have extensive experience in Mexico, Cuba, and Latin America. This training took place in the College of Communications at California State University Fullerton.
  • Provided tours for the students and faculty to both traditional and new media news and journalistically based organizations such as the LA times, La Opinion, and Telemundo.
  • Provided housing and instruction at California State University Fullerton in Southern California, while incorporating opportunities for the participants to interact with English and Spanish Language media professionals and organizations.