The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is offering the first Spanish language news media production class as an elective.
Open to all majors, Spanish Language News Media Production is now available to USC students to take in the fall semester.
Allan Lopez, USC adjunct instructor and professor of this class, said the class is going to be valuable because the school is expanding its offerings to Latinx audiences and students.
“For our communities, the language is really important, and for a lot of aspiring journalists, Spanish language news is a place that is a stepping stone and maybe is a career path,” he said. “I’m grateful that we have the leaders like Dean [Willow] Bay, [School of Journalism] director Gordon Stables and associate director Rebecca Haggerty who have been open and willing to create this space.”
The new class included in Annenberg’s curriculum could open more doors for Latinx and Hispanic journalists or writers who want to build a bilingual career or feel closer to their culture by sharing content with their communities.
“We know that Spanish language media like Univision, Telemundo, TV Azteca, are such important players in the field,” Lopez said. “And it’s important for students who are interested in those areas to have those opportunities and to have a class to be able to go down this path.”
The class also counts towards the new Latinx news media minor that Annenberg has been offering to journalism students since the beginning of the year to provide the tools and experience students may need to create content for Latinx and Hispanic audiences.
“I’m actually really excited to hear about this new class coming up,” said Maria Robles, a sophomore majoring in communication. “Just hearing about this class, especially with Allan Lopez being our professor … I feel like it shines a light for other aspiring storytellers.”
Marco Ramirez, a journalism major who said he wants to register for this class, said he is really happy about the class because he was looking for similar Spanish classes since he started his career at the school.
“I heard about it as people were talking about it, and it immediately caught my interest,” he said. “I like broadcast and print, so I think it’s a great step forward. And I’m working towards catering to both English and Spanish.”
Other students outside the Annenberg school said they are also excited about the new course and think it should have been done before because of the large Latinx population in Los Angeles.
“This course should have been available a long time ago,” said Haily San Cesario, a freshman majoring in computer science student. “However, this great step towards promoting diversity and inclusion in journalism and media is here.”
Carlos De Ontañon, a freshman studying nonprofits and social change, said he was surprised to hear the class has just become available given the school’s emphasis on diversity in the curriculum.
“I was quite shocked to find out that it was only now being launched,” he said. “I believe it’s beneficial to both the school and the student body.”
De Ontañon also said the class would be an important way to address the lack of coverage for Latin American issues in the U.S.
“I believe this course could further diversify the field of journalism and serve as a source of representation for Latino students and nonstudents alike,” he said.