By Lynn Arditi
During HJ24 earlier this month in New York City, I sat down with AHCJ President Felice Freyer. We discussed her journey to becoming a health care reporter, top lessons learned during her career and the evolution of AHCJ as an organization and health care news resource.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve been writing about health care for most of your career. When did you realize that you wanted to cover the topic?
It really goes back to AHCJ co-founder Irene Wielawski. She was the medical writer at The Providence Journal, where I used to work, and I so admired her stories. I realized she was doing the kind of stuff that I would most love to do — human interest stories that also incorporated science and policy, and had a real impact. When Irene left for The Los Angeles Times, I applied for her position.
What was one of the first health care stories you wrote?
The first one that stands out from early in my career is a magazine story I wrote about a young woman who suffered from major depression. Back then, people weren’t talking about mental health all the time, the way they are now. She was very brave and was willing to share her story with her name.
She went away to college and suddenly she was [so depressed that she curled up] in a fetal position. It took a long time for her to get a diagnosis and to get appropriate treatment. Her mother and father talked to me about how surprising and baffling it was that their beautiful young daughter was suddenly non-functional.
An acquaintance I’d met as part of my work sent me a message after he retired from his job, and after I had left the Journal for the Boston Globe. He said, “You know, I’ve always wanted to thank you, because you changed my life with that article … because I realized that I had depression. And I got treatment and my whole life turned around because of your article.” That’s the best thing that you can imagine, that you could change someone’s life in that way.
How did you first get involved with AHCJ?
It was Duncan Moore, one of the founders. He called me and said, “We’re starting this new association. Do you want to join?” And I said, “Yeah, what a great idea!” And so I’m a charter member. I joined the Right-to-Know Committee and did a lot of work with that group pushing for access to information, writing letters to officials and stuff like that. Being on a committee, if I can get on my soapbox, is a great way to get engaged with AHCJ. And then in 2009, I ran for the board and was elected.
How is AHCJ different today than it was when you first joined?
The membership is changing, because of the way journalism is changing. So we’re now one-third freelancers, at least, maybe even more. It seems like every time I turn around, there’s another freelancer, including me. There’s so many people who lost their jobs or chose to leave their jobs to freelance. And we offer great services for freelancers. That’s been built up a lot.
For all members, our training has gotten more and more sophisticated. We have more fellowships; there’s a new international one. We’re doing more work with other organizations. We have a partnership with SEJ (Society of Environmental Journalists) and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing that we call a “SHERF” (National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowship). And we’ve become better known, joining other groups in press freedom advocacy.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was this saying that everybody became a health care reporter. Do you think the pandemic had a lasting impact on interest in health care?
Well, it depends on who you’re talking about. I think there’s greater interest [among] the public. I’m just guessing, but I think there’s more people out there who think they’re experts in health care than ever before, because they read a little bit, and they have that dangerous little bit of knowledge.
Also, it’s become way more political. You used to be able to just talk to a public health official, and they could give you an answer that had to do with the facts. Now they have to think of the political ramifications of everything they say. So that’s obviously affected our ability to cover things.
Do you hear about reporters having problems just getting basic information, especially newer reporters?
It’s a problem throughout journalism, actually. People are shutting down. It’s gotten so bad that the Poynter Institute produced a guide called “Shut Out” on how to deal with sources refusing to talk with reporters. So yeah, I think it’s everywhere. It’s very harmful.
How should we be thinking about the problem of misinformation in terms of our health care reporting?
It’s very difficult because the people who most need to hear the facts are not reading our publications, you know? They’re listening to Fox News and Newsmax. And I don’t know what the solution is to that. But I think reporters have to be very careful about false equivalence, and figure out a way to just get the truth out there.
You have to acknowledge people who are not accepting the truth, but you don’t want to give them an equal platform. So it’s very tricky to get that right. But also, you need to be very careful not to say anything that seems to be scornful of people who see things differently. Because we’ve got to be able to reach those people too.
When you talk to young journalists who may be interested in health, what do you want them to know?
I want them to know that you’ll never know it all. So no matter how many years you cover it, you will feel like you’re more ignorant each year that goes by.The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know. So you’ve got to stay humble. And you need to check everything and talk to as many people as you possibly can until your editor forces you to cut bait. I tell my students that with health care journalism, there’s never two sides. There’s like seven, 10 sides. It’s just very complex, and there’s a lot of nuances.
What do you wish you knew about this work 20 years ago that you know now?
I wish that when I was younger, and just starting out at this, that I had been more aware of the emotional side of reporting and how I was bound to become emotionally engaged in the stories that I cover. And that I shouldn’t be fighting that, but just be a person with the people I was interviewing and not worry that somehow it’s going to cross a line if you just be a human being. It took me a while to learn that. You’re dealing with sickness and life and death, and it’s going to be emotional, and you need to let yourself go with those emotions.
Are you any more open with people that you cover than you used to be?
Yeah. Let’s say if I’m talking to somebody about Alzheimer’s, I might say, “My mother had that. So I know what you mean.” That can help you build a connection.
Lynn Arditi is the health reporter at The Public’s Radio, the NPR affiliate in Rhode Island. She was a 2024 AHCJ-Rhode Island Journalism Fellow.
