AHCJ member Stefanie Friedhoff has led a Nieman Foundation effort to bring together as much pandemic flu material as possible in one spot. The CoveringFlu.org guide not only helps reporters with the science, historical context and journalism involved, but also with practical safety considerations.
Much of the content came out of a 2006 conference, The Next Big (Health) Crisis – And How to Cover It, presented by the Nieman Foundation and cosponsored by AHCJ. It brought journalists together with scientists, public health officials, medical experts, academic researchers, law enforcement officers, public policy experts, and Homeland Security officials to talk about how best to prepare for the possible arrival of pandemic flu.
Read edited excerpts from a lengthy transcript from the event:
- Interactions of journalists and sources
- A focus on the science
- Understanding the risk – What frightens rarely kills
- Reacting to the crisis
- Press lessons from the 1918 pandemic flu
- Preparing for pandemic flu
- Reporting from the frontlines
- The many dimensions of the avian flu story
- Communicating news of an outbreak
- Preparing for the crisis
- Books about influenza
AHCJ also has these resources for journalists covering flu stories:
- Avian and pandemic influenza tip sheet, by Maryn McKenna
- Covering avian flu and pandemics: Tips for smaller newspapers/broadcast operations
- Pandemic preparedness: Tips to cover recent supplemental funding to states
- Avian & pandemic flu resources
- Bringing international stories home
- Resources for covering H1N1 flu, pandemics and preparedness
- Preparing your community for pandemics
- Pandemic/avian influenza: Epidemiology and challenges
- Pandemic influenza: Planning and coordinating the response
- Public health crisis preparation: Linda Rosenstock
