About AHCJ: General News

AHCJ hires Bruzzese as executive director Date: 04/26/05

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. -- The Association of Health Care Journalists has hired veteran journalist Len Bruzzese as its new executive director, the association's board of directors announced today.

The board also announced plans to relocate AHCJ and its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism to the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Mo., from its current home at the University of Minnesota.

Bruzzese, currently deputy director of Investigative Reporters and Editors, will start July 1.

"We're delighted to have Len on board to help us grow the organization,'' AHCJ Board President Trudy Lieberman said.

Bruzzese, 47, has spent the past seven years working at IRE and teaching at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. As IRE's deputy director, he helped manage programs and services for the 5,000-member nonprofit journalism organization. He served as editor of the award-winning magazine The IRE Journal, published books and newsletters, managed Web and marketing efforts, and helped coordinate national and regional conferences. Bruzzese co-authored The Investigative Reporter's Handbook (4th edition) and edited 10 other books while at IRE.

Prior to IRE, Bruzzese held a number of editing, reporting and management positions with newspapers and wire services, including The Olympian in Olympia, Wash., the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., USA Today and Gannett News Service in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

"Health care is one of the fastest growing specialties in journalism,'' Bruzzese said. "I'm excited to be part of AHCJ's efforts to educate journalists, advocate on their behalf and, ultimately, better serve the general public."

AHCJ and the Center will join several other professional organizations housed at Missouri. They include the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the National Newspaper Association, the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, the Journalism and Women Symposium and IRE.

The Association of Health Care Journalists, Inc. is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to advancing public understanding of health care issues. Its mission is to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing.

The Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism focuses on the proper training of journalists to cover all aspects of health care, including business issues, public policy, medical research, medical practice, consumer health issues, public health, health law and ethics.

Freelance journalist Andrew Holtz has been acting as interim executive director since last October.

"This announcement marks the beginning of a new phase in our campaign to help our fellow journalists cover the challenging health and health care beat,'' Holtz said. "I want to give deep thanks to the University of Minnesota and its Schools of Journalism and Public Health for nurturing AHCJ though its infancy."