Course ID: | JRMC 7355. 3 hours. |
Course Title: | Health and Medical Journalism |
Course Description: | Students will learn to report critically and write clearly
about health and medical information that originates with peer-
reviewed journals, scientific meetings, government and
institutional sources, pharmaceutical and biotech companies,
watchdog groups, and academic experts. |
Oasis Title: | HEALTH & MED JRL |
Prerequisite: | Permission of department |
Semester Course Offered: | Offered spring semester every year. |
Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
|
Course Objectives: | Student will:
1) Gain a conceptual understanding of connections between health
and wealth at individual, community, national and international
levels and be able to apply this knowledge to story ideation and
execution.
2) Understand how to analyze audience characteristics and use
this knowledge to frame stories and deliver news and information
using traditional and multimedia platforms.
3) Master skills needed to research and write accurate, timely,
interesting and credible news and feature stories about health
and medical topics for large or small audiences. Be able to
present these stories in traditional and multimedia formats.
4) Learn to evaluate data and newsworthiness of information
presented in peer-reviewed scientific journals, at scientific
meetings, and in communications generated by government and
institutional sources, pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies, watchdog groups and academic experts. |
Topical Outline: | 1. Think globally, write locally. Draw on all possible
resources but make the story relevant to a specific audience.
2. Reading like a reporter - advice from public health experts
and biomedical researchers about finding the news in peer-
reviewed journals.
3. Interviewing like a reporter - asking the right questions,
listening to what people say (and don't say).
4. Storytelling across platforms - collaborating with visual
journalists to frame stories that work in print and online.
5. Reporting on poverty, race and health disparities.
6. Field reporting - researching stories in clinical or
research laboratories.
7. Field reporting - finding credible, timely news at a major
medical conference.
8. Covering the quality and economics of health care in the
United States. |