Schooling in Spanish   

U .S. JOURNALISM SCHOOLS are learning a new language.
Florida International University offers a Spanish-language journalism degree and the University of Miami is likely to follow suit. Two others--California State University's Long Beach and Northridge campuses--may add similar programs.
The goal is to train students to speak, read and write well enough in both English and Spanish to work in either language, whether in the United States or Latin America. "It gives them more job options," says Cynthia Rawitch, chair of the journalism department at Cal State Northridge.
Although Florida and California are home to huge Latino communities and many Spanish-language media outlets, it can be difficult to find people who are qualified to teach journalism in Spanish. Locating Spanish-language journalism books and other teaching materials is also a challenge.
One school that has succeeded is Florida International in Miami. Five years ago, the school started a one-year master's program in Spanish-language journalism with an emphasis on investigative reporting. About 80 percent of the students who enroll are from the United States; the rest come from Latin America and Spain.
The school, in association with a Mexican publisher, also has produced eight journalism books in Spanish that were written by journalists from Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile and the United States. Faculty, who must have at least a master's degree and significant professional experience, have been hired from Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Bolivia and the United States.
The University of Miami, which in the spring launched a weekly student-run Spanish-language newscast, hopes to inaugurate its own one-year Spanish-language master's in journalism program. Students will participate in five intensive two-week sessions spread over 12 months. The program would target Latin Americans who may be unable to move to Miami for a year, although the school hopes to attract some Spanish-speaking journalists living in the United States.
Cal State Long Beach a year ago proposed a Spanish-language undergraduate journalism program that would be offered by three departments. It may take up to a year to find out whether the proposal is approved, says Lee Brown, chair of the journalism department. Cal State Northridge has discussed creating an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Spanish-language media.
Santa Ana College, a two-year community college in Orange County, started what is believed to be the first student-run Spanish-language newscast in 1995. Several other California schools produce student-run Spanish-language or bilingual newspapers and magazines.