MULTICULTURAL MIAMI

When Alberto Ibarguen, publisher of The Miami Herald, ascended the podium to welcome attendees to NAA's 2000 SuperConference, he knew that the thunderstorms raging outside were a hot topic of conversation.

"It's a Chamber of Commerce plot," Ibarguen said. "We want you to return to Miami, so we made it sunny the weekend before the conference. But we also want you to attend the SuperConference sessions, so we made it rain once the conference began."

Ibarguen went on to describe Miami as one of only two cities in North America (the other being Vancouver) that are already part of the 21st Century global economy. The reason, he said, is that Miami is completely multicultural. He cited the following evidence:

o Fifty-eight percent of Miami's Dade County is Hispanic.

o More direct flights to Latin America originate in Miami than in New York and Los Angeles combined.

o Miami's Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald is the fourth-fastest growing newspaper in America.

"Miami is a diverse, multicultural, multilingual and very beautiful city," Ibarguen said.

In addition to welcoming them to Miami, Ibarguen also urged attendees to pay close attention to sessions covering print quality. "When print quality suffers, the entire enterprise suffers," he said.

-Clark Robinson