Spring 2003

Reporting on Health

Few topics receive more media attention today than the topic of health. Yet, in the view of some journalists, many of the stories being told about health are not ones journalists want to tell or that members of the public need to hear. As Andrew Holtz, a freelance health reporter and president of the Association for Health Care Journalists, observes, “… stories I think need to be told, are often not the ones that easily sell. My personal frustration is not the issue, but we should be concerned when journalists are inhibited from the work of sustaining an informed and involved citizenry.” – Melissa Ludtke, Editor

Reporting on Health
Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor
Frustrations on the Frontlines of the Health Beat
News organizations need to find spaces ‘to be homes for stories that are now often orphaned.’
By Andrew Holtz
The Public Health Beat: What Is It? Why Is It Important?
‘To follow a public health story is to feel the classic pull of a mystery….’
By M.A.J. McKenna
The Anthrax Attacks
A journalist assesses what went wrong in coverage of this story.
By Patricia Thomas
Preparing for Bioterrorism Reporting
By Patricia Thomas
Useful Lessons From Reporting the Anthrax Story
A journalist describes what happened and shares what he learned.
By Sanjay Bhatt
Public Health Reporting: After September 11th, It’s More Difficult
Important stories aren’t getting told, sources are hard to reach, and what was once public is now considered secret.
By Madeline Drexler
Reporting on America’s Widening Racial Health Gap
Using computer-assisted reporting, The Plain Dealer found the fault lines.
By Dave Davis
Lead Poisoning: A Failed Response and Sick Children (1 comment)
A team of reporters and a photographer tackle a familiar story with a new approach.
By Judy Peet
Reporting on the Business of Health Care
‘… this beat is a rich, exciting and suspenseful journey.’
By Madge Kaplan
The Uninsured Story Is Seldom Fully Told
Reporters rely on experts instead of going out where the story is happening.
By Susan Dentzer
Alcoholism: Its Origins, Consequences and Costs
A reporter’s journey into this story results in lessons learned—and a Pulitzer Prize.
By Eric Newhouse
Is the U.S. Government Making Children Fat?
By asking different questions, a journalist connects farm policies to childhood obesity.
By Barry Yeoman
Explaining Why 24,000 People Died Yesterday
The Boston Globe looks worldwide at the result of scant health care.
By James F. Smith
AIDS in Africa: A Story That Must Be Told
Reporters confront significant barriers, imposed by governments, editors and their own experiences, to accurately portray this health crisis.
By Huntly Collins
Journalism Is Failing in Its Coverage of Global AIDS
‘The worst global pandemic since the Black Death of the Middle Ages receives less media attention than a World Cup soccer match.’
By Sabin Russell
Documenting the Plague of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa
By photographing this disease’s devastation, James Nachtwey appeals ‘to stop the madness, lend a hand, restore humanity.’
By James Nachtwey
Reporting on HIV/AIDS in Kenya
‘Medical experts are not willing to release the information to the media because they fear rebuttal from government authorities….’
By Joseph Ngome
Why Reporters and Editors Get Health Coverage Wrong (1 comment)
Health journalists need and want special training.
By Melinda Voss
Covering the Quality of Health Care: A Resource Guide for Journalists (1 comment)
By Melinda Voss
An Education in How to Cover the Issues
In eight days, journalists gain knowledge and experience that improves coverage.
By Larry Tye
Examining the Content of Health Care Reporting
Neither the health care system nor policies creating it receive coverage they deserve.
By Felicia Mebane
Curator’s Corner
Media Ownership and the Quality of News
As the Federal Communications Commission considers changing rules, journalists need to pay better attention.
By Bob Giles
Nieman Notes
Courageous Zimbabwean Editor Becomes a Nieman Fellow
‘Like a recurring nightmare, Nyarota became a frequent occupant of Harare’s police cells.’
By Shyaka Kanuma
‘News to Images’
By Lois Fiore
Journalist’s Trade: Investigating Scandal in the Catholic Church
Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor
Reporting Stories With Children as Victims of Priests
For journalists in Boston, ‘this crazy locomotive’ of a story has been unceasing and, at times, wrenching to cover.
By Elizabeth Mehren
Shining the Globe’s Spotlight on the Catholic Church
After publishing more than 900 articles about sexual molestation by priests, The Boston Globe’s coverage isn’t over yet.
By Walter V. Robinson
Secrecy Remained in Place With the Church’s Finances
Journalists were not able to secure the financial documents they needed to back up their reporting from informed sources.
By Stephen Kurkjian
The Neglected Vatican Beat
‘… most reporters are constrained to do less than full-time work on a beat that demands more than full-time competence.’
By John L. Allen, Jr.
Reporting the Catholic Church’s Scandal in Ireland (7 comments)
Hindered by its secrecy culture, Irish journalists were helped by dogged reporting from Britain.
By Emily O’Reilly
In the 1980’s, a Chicago Newspaper Investigated Cardinal Cody
‘We’re going to have to do as careful and as in-depth reporting as anyone’s ever done, because this is dynamite.’
By Roy Larson
Words & Reflections: Journalists Testifying at War Crimes Tribunals
Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor
Testing Different Expectations of Journalism
An American journalist wrestles with the request to provide evidence to a war crimes tribunal.
By Nina Bernstein
Consequences Occur When Reporters Testify
A reporter urges journalists to be better watchdogs of the war crimes tribunal process.
By Roy Gutman
Roy Gutman’s Witness Statement
Elizabeth Neuffer’s Affidavit (1 comment)
Deciding to Testify About Rwanda
‘As a journalist, I might argue against testifying but, as a human being, I could not.’
By Lindsey Hilsum
Objectivity Without Neutrality
A Bosnian journalist reflects on the value of testifying about the crimes of genocide.
By Kemal Kurspahic
The Roles Journalists Played During the Balkan War
‘… this book is a welcomed reminder of how journalism can be a noble calling, but also a foul profession.’
By Senad Pecanin
A Reporter Decides to Testify, Then Decides Against It
Students ask him, ‘Is a journalist not a human being?’
By Bill Berkeley
Balancing Journalism and Justice
A journalist proposes what might be a workable solution.
By Russell Mills
Coverage of War
The Unseen Gulf War
A photographer portrays human suffering in war.
By Peter Turnley
War Reporting: How Should Civilian Casualties Be Reported?
A veteran journalist looks at other wars to help journalists understand the value of this reporting and how best to cover them.
By Bob Zelnick
International Journalism
Introduction
By Melissa Ludtke, Editor
The Korean Election Shows a Shift in Media Power
Young voters create a ‘cyber Acropolis’ and help to elect the president.
By In-Yong Rhee
Reflecting the Life of China in the Mirror of His Life
A Chinese scholar and one-time journalist describes what happened to him during the Cultural Revolution.
By Yvonne van der Heijden
Creating a Different Approach to Telling the News
An American journalism professor teaches students about free speech in authoritarian Uzbekistan.
By Nicholas Daniloff
Journalists Built a Bridge of Understanding Between East and West
During the cold war, Soviet and American editors learned from one another.
By Watson Sims