Promotion, new job and a fellowship for AHCJ members
Marilynn Marchione has been named chief medical writer for The Associated Press. In a press release, the AP says “She regularly produces some of our most high-impact enterprise, demystifies complicated medical studies, and mentors other writers.” The release says she will “play a larger role in working with regional desks worldwide to help them shape smart ideas as the AP strives to build an even greater distinctive presence in health coverage” and encourages its reporters to use her as as resource if they “have the seed of an idea for a health story or who need guidance in deciphering medical jargon.”
Dave Parks has been named editor of Cahaba Media Group’s HomeCare. Parks has been working as an independent journalist, recently publishing “Health Care Reform Simplified.” Before that, he was the senior health reporter for The Birmingham News for 22 years and worked as the health section editor at CNN.com.
Rochelle Sharpe has been selected for the MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellows Program. The program, a collaboration of the Gerontological Society of America and New America Media in conjunction with the Journalists Network on Generations, convenes the fellows at the GSA’s annual meeting where they tap into the presentations to develop a major aging-focused story or series. Sharpe, a Boston-based independent journalist, will investigate declining life expectancy for women in some low-income U.S. regions. Sharpe, who shared a 1991 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, is a former Wall Street Journal reporter and has written for The Boston Globe, Business Week and many other publications.
Health stories win at ONA for investigations, multimedia
The Online News Association has honored two of this year’s bumper crop of excellent health pieces with top honors in their respective categories at the 2011 Online Journalism Awards, with nods going to pioneering work by both ProPublica and The Washington Post.
For ProPublica, AHCJ member Robin Field’s examination of the nation’s Medicare-funded dialysis system and what this oft-overlooked federal budget item tells us about the implementation of “socialized medicine” in America earned the Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism in the Small Site category. Since its publication, Fields’ award-winning piece has continued to evolve, adding data and updates as they become available.
Also nominated in the category were ProPublica’s Dollars for Docs and Investigative West’s Livesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences.
The other prominent health winner was The Washington Post’s video-heavy “Traumatic Brain Injury: Coming home a different person,” which beat out another multimedia piece, the Los Angeles Times‘ Dylan’s Brain, in the large site category of the Multimedia Feature Presentation award.
Earlier: Health journalists poised for strong showing at 2011 ONA Awards
AHCJ members win recognition for their work
André Picard was among a group of journalists recognized by the Canadian Medical Association for The (Toronto) Globe and Mail’s series “Dementia: Confronting the Crisis.” The project won a 2011 Media Award for Health Reporting in the “Excellence in Print Reporting/In-depth feature series” category.
Paul Raeburn has received the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry to the Public from the American Chemical Society. The award cites Raeburn’s work as science editor and chief science correspondent at the Associated Press from 1981 to 1996, where thousands of his articles were distributed to more than 1,700 newspapers and 6,000 television and radio stations worldwide. Raeburn writes about science coverage for the Knight Science Journalism Tracker and is an independent journalist and author.
Liz Seegert was named a senior fellow with the Center for Health, Media and Policy at Hunter College, City University of New York. She is working with AHCJ members Barbara Glickstein and Diana Mason, among others, on initiatives to improve public health through media, education and public forums.
Ron Winslow, the deputy bureau chief for health and science and a veteran medical reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was awarded the 2011 Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. Winslow was cited for the “exceptional breadth, precision and clarity of his coverage about how technological innovation is transforming the world of medicine.”
AHCJ members tackle job changes, book publishing and earn awards
Health journalists have been busy, with a number of job changes, awards and new books out. Here’s the latest news about AHCJ members:
MILESTONES
Conscious Living TV recently launched its latest media platform: taxi screens in New York City, Chicago, Boston and Seattle. Bianca Alexander is a correspondent/executive producer of the news show about the eco-movement.
Joe Carlson (@MHJCarlson) has a new beat covering legal affairs for Modern Healthcare magazine. He received the print journalism award this summer for best story in trade-circulation category from the National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation for his 2010 story, “Bad for Business.”
Bob Mitchell has been named editor at CMIO Magazine, based in Providence, R.I. The online and print publication reaches chief medical information officers.
The Oakland Tribune ran Beatrice Motamedi’s three-part series on inner-city teens and stress, called “The Long Arm of Childhood,” on the front page for three days in May and June. The series was a project of the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at USC/Annenberg.
Following the terrorist attacks in 2011, PJ Noonan found families who had babies born on Sept. 11, 2001, and told the stories of six of them in USA Weekend. For the 10th anniversary, Noonan located the six children and their parents for a feature in the Sept. 11, 2011, issue of USA Weekend.
Marie Powers has joined BioWorld Today as a staff writer. With 15 years on the health care beat, Powers will cover breaking news on public and private companies for the biotechnology industry’s daily newspaper and contribute to affiliated reports.
Jennifer Ringler has started the master of science in health communication program at Boston University. She is the volunteer associate director, grants and media relations, for the International Cancer Advocacy Network.
HealthNewsReview.org publisher Gary Schwitzer, who is a member of the FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee, contributed a chapter on health care journalism to the FDA’s new “Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User’s Guide.” Australian journalist Melissa Sweet has written a review of the guide.
AWARDS
Health columnist LJ Anderson won second place for her Palo Alto Daily News’ feature columns in the 2011 Greater Bay Area Journalism Awards, sponsored by the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club.
WebMD’s Daniel J. DeNoon, senior medical writer, Laura J. Martin, M.D., and Sean Swint, executive editor, won a 2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Online Deadline Reporting (Affiliated) for “Gene Test, Preventive Surgery Save Women’s Lives.”
Steven Kussin, M.D., has opened a community-based, non-academic Shared Decision Center. His book, “Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now” was published on Aug. 28.
Maryn McKenna, an independent journalist and an AHCJ board member, won a 2011 Science in Society Journalism Award, sponsored by the National Association of Science Writers, for her book “Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA” (Free Press).
Jennifer Meckles, who recently began a job at WBIR-Knoxville, Tenn., as a multimedia journalist, won a Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional journalists in the Television News General Reporting category for “New Signs for Boomer Eyes,” a piece about the government changing road sign policies due to the failing eyesight of the Baby Boomer generation. She was a finalist in the Television News In-Depth Reporting category for “Target 8: Fulton Hospital,” an investigation into a maximum security Missouri prison and mental rehabilitation center.
HealthSource and Florida Doctor - North magazines, published by Beson4 Media Group, were honored by the Florida Magazine Association. HealthSource received a Charlie Award for Writing Excellence in Best Service Coverage for its November 2010 diabetes issue. Florida Doctor - North received a Bronze Award for General Excellence in Best Overall Magazine/Trade/Technical for its August 2010, January 2011 and February 2011 issues. Vanessa Wells is the editor at Beson4 Media Group.
BOOKS PUBLISHED
William “Lee” Dubois‘ book, “Diabetes Warrior: Be your own knight in shining armor. How to stay healthy and happy with diabetes,” has been published.
John Hacker, managing editor at The Carthage (Mo.) Press, and Randy Turner have written “5:41: Stories from the Joplin Tornado.” It is Hacker’s story about covering the tornado, along with stories from other survivors and obituaries for the 160 people who died.
Harriet Hodgson, B.S., M.A., an independent journalist based in Rochester, Minn., has just had her 29th and 30th books published. “Happy Again! Your New and Meaningful Life After Loss” was published by Centering Corporation in Omaha. “Real Meals on 18 Wheels: A Guide for Healthy Living on the Highway,” is a nutrition book for truckers written with Kathryn Clements, R.D. The seed money for the project came from a major trucking company and the pair self-published it using CreateSpace.
Dave Parks, a freelance journalist in Birmingham, Ala., has just authored a book published through Apress, “Health Care Reform Simplified.” It describes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, translating the law’s complex language into terms that are easy to understand. Parks blogs about health care reform.
“Launching Your Dietetics Career” (American Dietetic Association, 2011) is the sixth book written by D. Milton Stokes, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.N. It explains the pathway to becoming a registered dietitian and features more than a dozen interviews with professionals in the field. Stokes is working toward a doctorate degree in health communication from the University of Connecticut.
Groups push for transparency in Joint Commission’s hospital accreditation surveys
Filed under: Health data, Health journalism, Hospitals, Hot Health Headline, Public records, Studies
The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Jim Warren reports that about 50 advocacy groups, including the Consumers Union and Mothers against Medical Error, have joined forces to ask Congress to make the survey data behind hospital accreditation freely available to the public.
Their main target is The Joint Commission, a non-profit group that sets performance standards and is hired by hospitals and other health-care organizations to measure whether they meet those standards. In many states, Joint Commission accreditation is the basis for hospital licensure. It conducts extensive surveys every three years or so, and funds its efforts by charging hospitals upward of $45,000 for the privilege of being evaluated.
The Joint Commission’s disclosure practices last made headlines in January when, in response to pressure from AHCJ’s Right to Know Committee, it made accreditation information more readily available online.
For help finding and understanding Joint Commission reports and similar sources, AHCJ members can check out board president Charles Ornstein’s latest guide to Deciphering Hospital Quality Data, in which he addresses the strengths and weaknesses of myriad data sources and provides pointers on how to access and utilize them.
Health journalists poised for strong showing at 2011 ONA Awards
The 2011 finalists for the Online Journalism Awards were announced this week, and regular readers won’t be surprised to hear that health care journalists have made a strong showing. Health stories, sites and journalists are vying for honors in myriad categories, and that’s even before you start counting the health-heavy sites that are up for general awards. I’ve rounded up some of the most notable nominees below, as well as a few accounts to which you’re invited to direct your congratulatory tweets! The awards will be announced on Sept. 24, during ONA’s annual conference.
Knight Award for Public Service
Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Small Site
- Dialysis – ProPublica (@fieldsrobin)
- Dollars for Doctors – ProPublica (@charlesornstein, @tracyweber, @dancow)
- Lifesaving Drugs, Deadly Consequences — InvestigateWest (@invw)
Gannett Foundation Award for Innovative Investigative Journalism, Large Site
Multimedia Feature Presentation, Large Site
- Quieting Dylan’s Brain – Los Angeles Times (@mollyhf)
- Traumatic Brain Injury: Coming Home a Different Person – The Washington Post
Online Topical Reporting/Blogging, Small Site
- Doctors Behaving Badly: Shedding Light on Poor Doctor Oversight by Medical Boards – William Heisel, ReportingonHealth.org (@wheisel)
AHCJ welcomes more new members
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest members. All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves.
- David Freedman, independent journalist, Needham, Mass. (@dhfreedman)
- Janice Frey, independent journalist, Iowa City, Iowa
- Brande Martin, senior editor, Medscape Medical News, Chicago
- Jaya Shreedhar, independent journalist, Chennai, India
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
Congrats to 2011 class of AHCJ-National Library of Medicine fellows
Six journalists have been named to this year’s class of AHCJ-National Library of Medicine fellows. The fellowship program was created to increase reporters’ access and understanding of the considerable resources available at NLM and the National Institutes of Health. 
The journalists chosen to take part this year are:
- Chelsea Conaboy, health reporter, The Boston Globe (@cconaboy)
- Tim Darragh, senior writer, The (Allentown, Pa.) Morning Call (@timdarragh)
- Jason Kane, reporter/producer - health unit, PBS NewsHour
- Janice Lloyd, health and behavior reporter, USA Today (@janicenlloyd)
- Elizabeth Simpson, health reporter, The Virginian-Pilot
- Thomas Watkins, news editor, CNN
Their visit to the NIH campus, scheduled for Oct. 2-6, will include hands-on workshops about how to use and get the most from several government research databases, such as PubMed, MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov and ToxNet. Fellows also will meet with senior NLM and NIH researchers and officials for exclusive informational sessions.
The fellows were selected from dozens of qualified applicants.
“This is a great class of fellows interested in putting some new resources to use in their news reports,” said AHCJ Executive Director Len Bruzzese. “And, because of our past fellowships, the professionals at the Library of Medicine are excited to share these tools with journalists.”
AHCJ is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. With more than 1,100 members, its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing. The association and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism are based at the Missouri School of Journalism.
AHCJ members honored with recent awards
AHCJ members Daniel M. Keller, Ph.D., and Eric T. Rosenthal won the 2011 APEX News Series Writing Award for Publication Excellence for their five-part Oncology Times series, “Proton Beam Radiation Therapy: Implications for Cancer.” Earlier the series received a bronze award for Best Feature Article Series from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors.
Two AHCJ members were honored in the National Association of Black Journalists’ 2011 Salute to Excellence Awards in four categories:
- Magazine - Single Topic Series: “State of Our Girls,” Yanick Rice Lamb, Kendra Lee, Demene Millner, Eisa Ulen, Heart & Soul Magazine
- Magazine - Specialty: “Cleanse Craze,” Yanick Rice Lamb, Kendra Lee, Robin Stone, Heart & Soul Magazine
- Magazine - Art & Design: Page Design: “Spa Special,” Yanick Rice Lamb, Kendra Lee, Debra Moore, Heart & Soul Magazine
- Television - Specialty: “Food Deserts Fuel U.S. Health Crisis,” Betty Ann Bowser, Bridget DeSimone, Murrey Jacobson and Linda Winslow, PBS Newshour
AHCJ member M.B. Pell was among the winners of the 2011 Awards for Reporting on the Environment presented by the Society of Environmental Journalists:
Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, Large Market
3rd Place: ”Fueling Fears” by Jim Morris, Senior Reporter; Chris Hamby, Reporter; Center for Public Integrity, and M.B. Pell, Staff Writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in partnership with ABC News, working with reporter Matthew Mosk and correspondent Brian Ross.
• Use of Toxic Acid Puts Millions at Risk
• Regulatory Flaws, Repeated Violations Put Oil Refinery Workers at Risk
Honorable Mention: ”Renegade Refiner“ by Jim Morris, Senior Reporter, and Emma Schwartz, Reporter, Center for Public Integrity; and M. B. Pell, Staff Writer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Meet AHCJ’s newest members
Filed under: Health journalism, Member news, Studies
Please welcome AHCJ’s newest group of members. All new AHCJ members are welcome to stop by this post’s comment section to introduce themselves, and you’ll also find many of them waiting on Twitter! Take a minute to follow a few of your new colleagues and find out what they’re adding to the conversation.
- Inemesit Akpan, student, St. John’s University, Queens Village, N.Y.
- Rachana Dixit, associate editor, Inside Health Policy, Arlington, Va. (@rachanadixit)
- Lester Feder, staff writer, Politico, Arlington, Va. (@JLesterFeder)
- Joette Giovinco, medical reporter, WTVT-Tampa, Fla. (@JoetteG)
- Sam Lister, health editor, The Times, London, United Kingdom (@SamListerTimes)
- Gianna Milano, independent journalist, Milan, Italy
- Michael Pell, reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta
- Cathryn J. Ramin, independent journalist, Mill Valley, Calif. (@cjramin)
- Jim Roope, correspondent, CNN, Burbank, Calif. (@jimroopecnn)
- Rebecca Wolfson, student, University of Missouri, Berkeley, Calif. (@RWolfa)
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Join us in Omaha to find untold rural health stories
New at HealthJournalism.org
- AHCJ offers financial data about nonprofit hospitals
- Diversity in aging: Putting gray in the rainbow
- Southeast journalists eligible for regional fellowship program
- AHCJ-NLM Health Journalism Fellowship offers hands-on medical research training
- AHCJ announces 2011 winners of top health journalism awards
