The State Department’s Media Hub for the Americas Expands its Role
Miami has long been considered the ‘Capital of Latin America’ due to its strong ties to the region. Some 70 percent of the population is Hispanic, with more than half the city’s residents speaking Spanish, ultimately attracting Latin American banks, law firms, startups, consular offices, and now the Media Hub of the Americas.
With its administrative headquarters in Washington DC under the State Department, the Miami-based Media Hub of the Americas works with major Spanish and Portuguese-language media platforms to communicate updates in U.S. foreign policy to regional audiences. It is one of six global hubs which include the Africa Regional Media Hub, the Asia Pacific Media Hub, the Brussels Media Hub (Europe), the Dubai Regional Media Hub (Middle East, Arab Gulf States), and the London International Media Hub (Middle East, South Asia). Notably, the Miami office is the only hub located within the U.S.
“All the other hubs are part of a specific embassy in those countries, which is how it normally should be,” explains Kristina Rosales Kostrukova, director of the Media Hub of the Americas. “But in our case, because we have a Latin America focus and Miami has such a large diaspora, we also do a little bit on the domestic diaspora communication side – particularly in this administration, with domestic foreign policy as a focus, because they have a voice as well in Latin America.”
Funded by the State Department, the hub has been in Miami since 2009 but only recently found a permanent home in the Downtown federal building. “For some time, there was a discussion about us maybe operating out of Washington, DC. But that is just a difficult location to operate from if you need to speak to Spanish-speaking media. That’s the strategic positioning that we have here in Miami,” says Rosales.
The office now has 10 employees and holds press conferences at least twice a month on topics ranging from migration to the presidential inauguration in Guatemala, while actively communicating through social media. Since the hub represents the federal government, it can also speak on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Commerce on issues relevant to the region. “And at the same time, we can report up to Washington when we see strategic changes happening, either in Miami or across Latin America,” says Rosales.
The hub will encourage increased engagement from Washington and ambassadors for the region. This includes making stops in Miami to engage with the press and visiting the new office space. “Miami’s international affairs sector is still quite underdeveloped compared to most other major American cities, so having a state department presence here helps build out that international sector with higher level engagement with U.S. diplomats and department officials that can come down to Miami,” says Aaron Rosen, President of the World Affairs Council Miami.
Last Month, the World Affairs Council Miami hosted the hub’s Deputy Director Christopher Johnson (a foreign service officer) who spoke with students about careers in foreign service. The hub also recently welcomed the President of Peru who wanted to stop in Miami on his way to DC.
“People would argue and say, ‘This is a trade hub or a commercial hub, but it’s not a diplomatic hub, and it’s not going to be because that’s Washington.’ But I think now we’re starting to see a little bit of that shift with the sort of activities, events, and players in the city,” says Rosales. “Having this office presence is allowing us to strengthen the relationship between the federal government – the State Department – and the local government here in Miami, whether it’s the through the mayor’s office – through the International Trade Consortium – or through the consulates based here that represent Latin America and the Caribbean.”
