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.
Athena Title
HEALTH & MED JRL
Prerequisite
Permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
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.