Provide names of other journalists involved.
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List date(s) this work was published or aired.
Insurer reinstates coverage – Jan. 8, 2011 A brief life, a long legacy – July 27, 2011 Believing without seeing – Nov. 24, 2011 Shane Burcaw – Dec. 25, 2011
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
The first piece about Capital Blue Cross’ decision to reinstate its mental health coverage for the 9,000 people serviced through its Individual health plans, was the culmination of a sequence of stories that the Morning Call did on the subject. We broke the story when the company abruptly decided to drop behavioral care, a move that could have caused a mental health crisis for the families involved. After the first story ran, there was a strong reaction from mental health advocates who were instrumental in causing the insurer to extend its drop date. The newspaper wrote a second story reporting the short deadline extension, which generated more public outcry. The pressure mounted and Capital Blue Cross finally reverted its original decision, allowing patients to maintain mental health benefits. The profile on Zachary Kraus was the result of six months of reporting. I started to follow the family in February, days after the boy’s death. The Morning Call was the only media entrusted to tell his story. He was a remarkable person who had raised funds for the oncology section at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children since the time he was 6. I wasn’t able to meet him in person, but after talking to his family, friends, doctors and nurses at length, I became very familiar with the way he saw the world. He fought leukemia for 11 years and left an indelible mark on those who knew him. When he realized that his life would never be what he longed for, he bravely faced death at the age of 16. Steve Super approached The Morning Call seven months before the story ran. It was an amazing story to begin with. A man who had lost his vision and spent eight years in the dark, reconstructing his life. During that time, he changed careers, married and conceived a child. When he had just about given up on the idea of recuperating his vision, he started to see again. It took me six months to confirm all of the details in the story. I also worked with the newspaper’s writing coach to imbue the piece with enough texture to guide our readers through his journey. The result was a Thanksgiving front page narrative that commanded the overwhelming response of our readers. Shane Burcaw’s story is the result of more than five months of reporting. When I began following the 19-year-old blogger, he had accumulated 2,000 followers on his blog “Laughing at my Nightmare!,” which humorously described the limitations of living with a debilitating disability. In short time he became an international voice and an inspiration for people with disabilities. By the time we published the story on Christmas day, he had garnered 25,000 followers. The story explores his sense of humor as well as his greatest fears.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
In the case of Capital Blue Cross, I interview many of the affected families. I consulted with the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, which helped me scrutinize the law in minute detail. I kept close contact with both mental health advocates as well as the insurance company. This allowed The Morning Call to report about each step in the process before any other media. In the case of Zach Kraus, I spent time with his family, his doctor and nurse. I visited both of the hospitals were he spent most of his time. I studied his life through different lenses: through the point of view of the parents, his two siblings, his friends, the people he helped, his classmates and the many people he inspired. I learned all of the intricacies of his medical chart and history with the help of his doctor and his right-hand and lifelong nurse, his mother. When the piece ran, it remained as one of the most read stories on the mcall.com site for several days, surpassing the crime stories. For the profile on Steve Super, I asked him to request copy of his medical records from Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. His story was remarkable, but I needed to substantiate all of the main milestones in his journey. Once this main hurdle was cleared, I delved into understanding the intricacies of his story. His faith was an important part of it and the piece needed to reflect that without overwhelming the tale. There was also the great challenge of trying to understand his experiences in the dark. We went over the same anecdotes multiple times in the course of six months. The writing was also a journey. Guided by a recommendation from the newspaper’s writing coach, we decided to publish the story with a surprise ending. It took a combination of all of these factors to produce the end result.
Explain types of human sources used.
In the case of Capital Blue Cross, I interview many of the affected families. I consulted with the Pennsylvania Health Law Project, which helped me scrutinize the law in minute detail. I kept close contact with both mental health advocates as well as the insurance company. This allowed The Morning Call to report about each step in the process before any other media. In the case of Zach Kraus, I spent time with his family, his doctor and nurse. I visited both of the hospitals were he spent most of his time. I studied his life through different lenses: through the point of view of the parents, his two siblings, his friends, the people he helped, his classmates and the many people he inspired. I learned all of the intricacies of his medical chart and history with the help of his doctor and his right-hand and lifelong nurse, his mother. When the piece ran, it remained as one of the most read stories on the mcall.com site for several days, surpassing the crime stories. For the profile on Steve Super, I asked him to request copy of his medical records from Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. His story was remarkable, but I needed to substantiate all of the main milestones in his journey. Once this main hurdle was cleared, I delved into understanding the intricacies of his story. His faith was an important part of it and the piece needed to reflect that without overwhelming the tale. There was also the great challenge of trying to understand his experiences in the dark. We went over the same anecdotes multiple times in the course of six months. The writing was also a journey. Guided by a recommendation from the newspaper’s writing coach, we decided to publish the story with a surprise ending. It took a combination of all of these factors to produce the end result.
Results:
In the case of the story about Capital Blue Cross, the newspaper was the catalyst that led the insurance company to revert its decision for the benefit of its 9,000 members. The profiles on Zach Kraus, Steve Super and Shane Burcaw generated strong reader response, some of whom wrote letters to editor to thank the newspaper for publishing a life affirming story.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
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Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
My main advice for someone trying to cover this beat in an innovative way is to identify those sources or stories that deserve long-term attention and include them into the day-to-day rhythm. The temptation is always strong to rush these stories into the paper, but time is often necessary to achieve command of its depth and themes.