About AHCJ: General News
Applications sought for second annual AHCJ-CDC Fellowships Date: 09/30/09
COLUMBIA, Mo. - AHCJ and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have agreed to a second annual national fellowship program for journalists. Ten fellows will be chosen to spend a week studying a variety of public health issues at two CDC campuses in Atlanta in December.
The AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellowships expose the selected journalists to sessions on epidemiology, global disease prevention efforts, pandemic flu preparedness, climate change, vaccine safety, obesity, autism and more. Fellows tour the CDC director's National Emergency Operations Center, meet new sources on policy and research and learn how to tap the agency's abundant resources to produce better stories.
The competitive fellowships are open to professional journalists working in the United States. The fellowships include travel, lodging and meals.
"This fellowship will give a small group of working journalists access to some of the nation's top public health officials and scientists," AHCJ Executive Director Len Bruzzese said. "We're happy we were able to work with CDC staff to offer another first-class training opportunity to journalists covering health issues."
The training will take place Dec. 13-18, 2009 at CDC's Atlanta and Chamblee campuses. Fellowship applications can be completed at healthjournalism.org/cdcfellowship and are being accepted until Oct. 23.
The CDC is charged with protecting public health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhancing health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promoting healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national and international organizations.
AHCJ is a nonprofit membership organization of about 1,000 journalists interested in health and health care. It conducts training and creates other educational materials through its Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. AHCJ is based at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Read how valuable the experience was to last year's fellows
Marshall Allen (right), a Las Vegas Sun reporter, speaks to Grant Baldwin, Ph.D., director of the CDC’s Injury Center, about interpreting child safety data for localizing stories, during the 2008 fellowship.
"It's been a great opportunity to connect with sources and hear about issues that fly under the radar. It will significantly improve my understanding and coverage of CDC-related health issues. Great access to top level sources. This conference provided that personal connection that can make the difference in timely, relevant response."
– JoNel Aleccia, health writer, msnbc.com
"You must offer this fellowship program again! I wish every member of the AHCJ could attend. There's no question that it's an experience that will improve my reporting. These briefings really pulled back the curtain on many of the CDC's activities. I have enough story ideas to keep me busy for years!"
– Lorna Benson, Minnesota Public Radio
"So helpful to get health information straight from the top experts in U.S. health. As a magazine freelancer, I was brimming with story ideas after leaving the fellowship, and I soon put that information to use in articles for Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest, More, Parenting and other publications."
– Meryl Davids, freelance writer, Boca Raton, Fla.