Alumnus creates film for Amazon Prime Video using smartphone

–By Zion Sealy for FIU News Award-winning filmmaker Gabriel Rhenals ’16 produced his first full-length feature film “For My Sister”—now streaming on Amazon Prime Video—on his smartphone. In 2019, Rhenals was looking for a simple, cost-effective way of creating the movie; he decided to film the entire production using his Samsung Galaxy S9+. “There was […]

Emmy Award-winning producer, alumnus Layne Batt ’80 shares path to success

–By Zion Sealy for FIU News Alumnus Layne Batt ’80 has been a part of the video broadcasting and production industry for more than 30 years. After graduating from FIU in 1980, Batt kick-started his career with WCIX TV Channel 6 and went on to ultimately earn a whopping 13 Emmy Awards for production. Ten years […]

Journalism, business alumna takes home 8 Emmys®

By Sarah Hernandez FIU journalism alumna Amanda Ramirez ’05, MBA ’10, WUVG 34 Univision Atlanta Executive Producer/News Anchor, recently took home 8 Emmys® in several categories, including General Assignment Report – No Time Limit; Weather – Feature, Segment, Program or Special; and Continuing Coverage for the station’s outstanding coverage of Hurricane María, throughout the storm’s passage across Puerto Rico and […]

Alumna releases album with Cash Cabin Studio

Alumna Ana Cristina Cash ’10 released her new album, “The Tough Love EP,” this month, recorded at the historic Cash Cabin Studio. A Miami native, Cash (née Alvarez) began her singing career at age 6 and grew up performing on Univision’s Spanish-language variety show “Sábado Gigante.” The daughter of an engineer and a stay-at-home mom […]

Students push storytelling boundaries using virtual reality

As news media becomes increasingly digital-first, and technology continues to evolve, journalists continue to look for new and engaging ways to push the boundaries of storytelling. Among the latest emerging trends: Placing users directly into the story using virtual reality. Investment in augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) reached $1.1 billion in 2016, according to […]

Students create communication plans for NASA technologies

Whether it’s the tires on our cars and trucks, the fancy cordless vacuum cleaners in our homes or the cameras on our smartphones, technology developed by NASA is part of our everyday lives. Taking the technologies created by the agency from their mission environments down to Earth is a complex endeavor. Thanks to one FIU professor […]

FIU professor: Don’t fall for fake news! Here are some tips.

As with other things in life, Professor Fred Blevens believes it’s important to practice safe news. Blevens teaches communication in the FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts and has devoted the last 10 years of his career to news literacy research and education. “We are seeing a return to how political coverage was […]

Alumnus to be featured in SoFlo HOME PROJECT

WPLG-TV, Local 10, the ABC affiliate in Miami-Fort Lauderdale announced today the launch of a new, weekly show, “SoFlo HOME PROJECT,” featuring Martin Amado ’96, which will debut Saturday, April 2 at 11:00 am. Host of SoFlo HOME PROJECT will be South Florida home designer, Martin Amado. “We are extremely excited about our newest locally-produced show in […]

Soledad O’Brien selects FIU to kick off Latino in America tour

As the No. 1 university in the nation for awarding bachelor’s and master’s degrees to Hispanic students, it’s fitting that award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien will kick off her national tour, I Am Latino in America, at FIU’s Graham Center ballrooms Monday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. “I am pleased to kick off our tour at FIU with a […]