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The Miami Herald’s Wish Book series calls attention to Floridians in need every winter holiday season. The series features those like Orlando Bello, a Cuba-born man in his nineties who . Stephanie Pavilus, a young working mother with medical school aspirations, . Bruce Ramirez-Duran , as he had aged out of Florida’s foster system. What do these Miami Herald articles have in common? Each one was written by a student at .

“In my first semester, I was already out in the street asking people questions, practicing my ice-breaking skills, and stressing about deadlines,” said Steban Rondon, a journalism student at FIU. “Moreover, I was writing in all sorts of areas, from restaurant reviews to profiles and breaking news. Overall, FIU allowed me to work and feel like a real journalist, not just like a student.”

The through the at FIU provides practical and immersive learning experiences to students. The SFMN website hosts a variety of student-produced content. Students write articles, produce video segments, host daily news shows, and narrate audio as part of their journalism education at FIU. Much of the written content housed through SFMN is created through courses, including investigative courses, enterprise courses, and more. Each course feeds a different part of the website, which results in two to eight stories posted per day depending on the time of year.

“I think it's a very diverse student body that can really make the press more diverse just by what they do. And I think, you know, provide good TV and good copy,” said Chuck Strouse, assistant director of the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media. “That's my vision, is that we get better and better at what we're doing now and really change the city for the better.”

A notable feature of SFMN is the production of Spanish-speaking news, an important aspect considering . Students also work directly with Univision, the largest Spanish language TV network in the United States.

“We send about twenty students who are paid by Univision and who work with stations for their capstones, their final class,” said Strouse, “and a lot of them get hired there, which is neat. And they're widening that partnership because it has been so good.”

The SFMN also has a partnership with the in which students pen the annual Wish Book series. The Miami Herald, which lost its newsroom, has benefited from student work. Nicolás Rivero, the Knight Innovator-In-Residence who is also a reporter for the Miami Herald, directly connects students to the newspaper.

“[Rivero] comes to our meetings once a week, talks to the kids about their stories, gives them tips on sourcing and stuff like that,” said Strouse. “That's really been great for him and great for us. Great for growing the university’s and the program's visibility in the city.”

SMFN also facilitates student immersive experiences through “bureaus” in Washington D.C. and Miami. At these bureaus, students learn from journalism professionals over the course of a full semester. Students in the Miami Bureau work on a long-form multimedia project while authoring pieces about specific newsbeats. They leave with honed news production skills and experience networking with local journalists.

“I selected FIU's journalism program because its hands-on approach to the news is in tune with today's fast-changing environment,” said Rondon. “Books and lectures will only get you so far; journalism is a profession where you need to start practicing your abilities from the moment you write your first story, and that cannot be achieved in a classroom.”