AHCJ News

Although AHCJ membership continued to increase this year as more journalists learned of its training opportunities and useful services, the group recognizes the strain under which the news media finds itself. The economic downturn has resulted in layoffs, buyouts and downsizings in several industries, including our own.

With that in mind, AHCJ is announcing a Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to help members who are forced into a job change. Any current AHCJ member who is laid off or is required to take a buyout, is eligible for TAP.

AHCJ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have unveiled a new national fellowship program for journalists. Ten fellows will be chosen to spend a week studying a variety of public health issues at two CDC campuses in Atlanta in early 2009. The application deadline is Dec. 29.

Two important journalism organizations are urging local broadcast stations and newspapers to avoid arrangements with hospitals that improperly influence health coverage, saying unethical partnerships interfere with independent news coverage of health care.

The Association of Health Care Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists are concerned about news media that publish or broadcast stories, reports, news releases and interviews prepared or paid for by hospitals.

Each spring it's time to take stock of where we are as an association - what we have done in the past year and where we are headed for the next one. As I noted in March at our annual meeting in Washington, D.C., AHCJ is in the best position ever - financially and otherwise.

Members of the Association of Health Care Journalists have re-elected five directors and added one new one for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

The Association of Health Care Journalists has named the 2008-09 class of the Midwest Health Journalism Program, an annual fellowship program for reporters and editors from Kansas and Missouri.

A new series of health-related webcasts for journalists debuts next week with a spotlight on the growing problem of the underinsured – those who have insurance but are still at risk for substantial out-of-pocket expenses. "Talking Health" will be presented by the Association of Health Care Journalists, The Commonwealth Fund and the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism.

Each year, members in the "active" or professional category elect members for AHCJ's board of directors. Six of the 12 director positions come up for election each year for two-year terms. Incumbent board members are allowed to run for re-election. Potential board members need to declare candidacy by 5 p.m. (Central time) on June 27.

About 75 people gathered in early May for AHCJ's first Rural Health Journalism Workshop to explore the special issues facing people living in rural areas, such as limited access to health care providers and pharmacies and a lack of resources. Journalists listened to experts on panels that dealt with diabetes, visual and dental health, challenges in getting health care workers to practice in rural areas, immigration, aging, how Medicare affects rural health care and more.

The Midwest Health Journalism Program completed its first year with the graduation in May of its inaugural class of fellows. The fellowship program was launched in 2007 through funding by a consortium of six Missouri and Kansas health foundations. Chris King, editorial director of the St. Louis American, was one of the fellows. In a sidebar, he reflects on their experiences and what they learned during their year as fellows.

Concerned by incidents in which hospitals have attempted to restrict newsgathering, the Association of Health Care Journalists strongly urges reporters to resist signing confidentiality agreements with hospitals. Confidentiality agreements typically aim to bar journalists from disclosing information they discover in the course of reporting at a facility, unless they obtain the hospital's approval.

More than two-thirds of health care reporters taking part in a First Amendment survey have had stories held or left unpublished because the Food and Drug Administration did not respond to FOIA requests in a timely manner. Only a third of reporters said they received a response within the required 20 days called for in the federal Freedom of Information Act. Many waited months or years – or never received requested data, according to the survey and analysis conducted for the Association of Health Care Journalists by graduate students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

A record crowd attending Health Journalism 2008 heard Elizabeth Edwards criticize Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health care proposals, actor Dennis Quaid urge better protection against hospital medical errors and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt unveil access to hospital patient satisfaction data.

Health Journalism 2008 highlights include an opening newsmaker briefing from actor Dennis Quaid with his very personal perspective on medical errors and a roundtable of some of AHCJ's founding members discussing the organization's past and future.

An investigation into deaths in Georgia's psychiatric hospitals, a riveting examination of the way genetic screening tests have changed American life, and a look at the abysmal state of dental health in West Virginia are among the top winners of the latest Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.

The 2007 awards, announced today by Association of Health Care Journalists, recognize the best health reporting in 10 categories covering print, broadcast and online media. In its fourth year, the contest received nearly 400 entries.

Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt and Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards, will headline the nation's largest health care journalism conference. About 500 attendees are expected to attend Health Journalism 2008, set for March 27-30 in Washington, D.C. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the association, one of the world's fastest-growing journalism organizations.

Truth in advertising is a motto we adhere to at the Association of Health Care Journalists, right down to the organization's name. That's the reason behind a recent update to our membership guidelines.

Veteran journalist and computer-assisted reporting instructor Jeff Porter has joined the Association of Health Care Journalists staff as its first special projects director. Porter will help with current and upcoming special projects, conference content planning and outreach efforts.

Andrew Dillon, chief executive of the United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, spoke to about three dozen journalists at an AHCJ event in London.The event was followed by a discussion about creating a U.K. chapter of AHCJ.

As balloting gets under way in the 2008 presidential primary season, three leading candidates have outlined their views on health care in response to questions posed by members of the Association of Health Care Journalists, the nation's leading group of health journalists.

Sixteen reporters from Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale gathered on Nov. 13 at the Winter Park Health Foundation in Winter Park, just outside Orlando.

More than 100 working journalists and journalism students attended the first Urban Health Journalism Workshop, presented by the Association of Health Care Journalists and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. The event was hosted by the Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, where participants got to tour the new facilities. The workshop's keynote address and opening reception gave attendees a chance to see The New York Times' new building, as well.

The AHCJ board of directors has approved extending the association's international membership discount for another year. The discount, allowing journalists from countries outside the United States and Canada to join for $30, was first approved in the fall of 2006.

The Association of Health Care Journalists and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism announced that it has received a $750,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support conferences and workshops, increase its training and outreach activities, and fund AHCJ's core educational and operational efforts.

The Association of Health Care Journalists has released its latest slim guide, "Covering Obesity." The guide, published with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is one in a series intended to assist reporters planning projects to think through the issues, and at the same time, to serve reporters on deadline surf quickly to sources or data.

Washington, D.C., members gathered July 18 for a brown-bag lunch and panel discussion on drug safety regulation and the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), currently in conference committee in Congress. The panelists were Susan F. Wood, Ph.D., professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University and former director of FDA's Office of Women's Health; and Caroline Loew, Ph.D., senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Audio of this timely and informative discussion is available for download.

The Association of Health Care Journalists has named the inaugural class of the Midwest Health Journalism Program, an annual fellowship program for reporters and editors from Kansas and Missouri.

AHCJ members, voting in this year's board election, re-elected five directors and added one new one. Half the board faces election each year. Re-elected: Andrew Holtz, Charles Ornstein, Carla K. Johnson, Karl Stark and Mary Chris Jaklevic. Newly elected this year is Sheree Crute.

AHCJ's board of directors has sent a letter to Sen. Arlen Specter stating opposition to secrecy clauses in contracts between medical device manufacturers and hospitals that interfere with the vital watchdog role of the news media.

The Association of Health Care Journalists has launched its new Web site featuring enhanced, easy-to-access resources for reporters, editors and others covering health news. AHCJ members will find more in-depth resources to help cover the beat, including articles written exclusively for the AHCJ site, tip sheets from fellow journalists, links to in-depth health coverage, an e-newsletter and much more.

A consortium of six health foundations in Kansas and Missouri has pledged $724,739 to establish the Midwest Health Journalism Program, an annual fellowship program for reporters and editors from both states. The program involves a cooperative effort among the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Kansas Health Institute and the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Kansas.

We hope this new Web site will become your new home on the Internet. You'll find more in-depth resources to help you cover your beat, including articles written exclusively for the AHCJ site, tip sheets from fellow journalists, links to in-depth health coverage, an e-newsletter and much more.

The kickoff meeting of the Chicago chapter of AHCJ drew about 20 people who got a scoop: the first word of a report on Medicare-funded hospices by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An OIG staff member gave a summary, highlighting findings on Illinois hospices - all in advance of the report's official release.

New strategies for covering local hospitals' quality of care and financial soundness were among the topics spotlighted during the "2007 Gnat Line News Briefing: Real Health and Medical News for Working Reporters."