Miami Herald Arts Reporter, Amanda Rosa, Shares Details on Her Work
Posting: Thursday, May 18, 2023
Amanda Rosa writes for The Miami Herald on Miami’s wide-ranged arts community. She is funded through the Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation CreArte grant program
Amanda Rosa has produced more than 135 digital & print stories in both English and/or Spanish with topics that involve arts news such as the naming of new curators and artistic directors at various local arts organizations – to an interview with a 19-year-old Peruvian singer-songwriter. Many of the stories she covered involved looking at other arts groups that are also CreArte grant recipients.
While reporting, Rosa also used Instagram Reels to highlight the luscious artwork Miami had to offer which regularly garnered a minimum of 10,000 views.
To hear more about her experiences, we reached out to Ms. Rosa to share her thoughts on the work she produced.
Amanda Rosa
Arts Reporter
Q. What was your favorite story you covered during your time as the CreArte-funded arts writer, and why?
I have a lot of stories that I love, but I think my favorite is “Can kids see ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’? How DeSantis’ anti-drag war is affecting the performing arts.” I’m proud of that story because it shows how politics affects art and shines light on growing fears of censorship among Florida artists.
I pitched the story after noticing that “Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical” is touring in South Florida. There’s a centuries-old tradition of drag in theater, so I wanted to know how theater groups would react to the governor’s retaliation against venues that have hosted drag shows with children present. The story sparked conversation online and gave the theater community an opportunity to speak on their concerns.
Q: Instagram Reels have been successful for engaging online audiences and quickly showcasing important coverage, but performing arts present copyright issues that limit your ability to create social media stories. Can you speak on how you approach covering performing arts in this digital space?
Yes, navigating copyright can be tricky. Many times, news outlets can’t participate in trending audios or memes because they might include copyrighted material.
I have found a way to circumvent that. I edit TikTok and Instagram Reel videos on an app called CapCut. The app has a feature that lets me connect the Herald’s TikTok account to get access to non-copyrighted music and audios. Thankfully, TikTok has an extensive free music library that anyone can use.
I also experimented with different audios and voiceovers by posting a Reel daily for a week over winter break.
I found that videos with voiceovers tend to perform well, especially if I'm explaining an art exhibition. Voiceovers can be more time-consuming to produce and edit, but the data showed that it is sometimes worth it.
Q. How do you balance covering the arts in English and Spanish, and have you noticed any differences in audience engagement with your stories in each language?
Balancing the coverage is not an issue, but we have noticed that there is far more audience engagement with arts coverage in English than there is in Spanish. I think a way to remedy that is by collaborating with El Nuevo Herald’s social media more to produce Spanish-language reels and Instagram posts that feature arts coverage. That's not to say that our Spanish-language readers do not care for arts coverage, but it's more likely that they're unaware that it exists in Spanish.
Q: How do you see the arts community in South Florida evolving in the coming years, and what role do you think reporting on such topics can play in influencing that development?
South Florida’s arts community changes rapidly, so it can be hard to predict the coming years. I do foresee arts nonprofits and artists as individuals creating more politically charged works, especially considering the climate in Florida.
By far, the biggest issue artists in Miami are facing is lack of affordability and housing. I think the state of the arts landscape in the next few years will depend on if artists will be priced out of Miami or if organizations and local governments will take a proactive approach.
Additionally, the viral hype around NFTs is relatively dead. It’ll be interesting to keep track of how NFT-focused companies, artists and museum initiatives survive in Miami. They’ll either become permanent fixtures of the city’s business and art sectors or fizzle out.
Q. How do you see the role of philanthropy in supporting arts journalism, and what steps do you think can be taken to ensure that this type of reporting continues to be financially viable in the future?
Philanthropy is extremely important in supporting arts journalism. In the past, newspapers like the Miami Herald had entire teams dedicated to all facets of arts coverage. Had it not been for this grant, the Herald would still not have a dedicated arts reporter writing about Miami’s important arts scene.
Miami’s status as an arts hub has international implications, and the Herald should be reporting on its ups and downs. The number of views on both my written stories and social media posts show that the community has a vested interest in the arts and its impact.
About The Miami Herald: The Miami Herald is dedicated to serving the diverse and growing South Florida region and its people as the community's most credible and dynamic source of news, information, and advertising solutions. The newspaper has won 22 Pulitzer Prizes since its inception in 1903. The Miami Herald also publishes Miami.com, an insider guide to Miami and South Florida entertainment. The company's area of operations in Miami and South Florida make up a uniquely multicultural region with a large and diverse Hispanic population. Online: miamiherald.com
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Media Contact: Rusty Coats, Executive Director | rusty@jfp-local.org | (813) 277-8959
