The Association of Health Care Journalists and the Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism have named award-winning journalist and editor Farah Yousry as our first journalist-in-residence.
Yousry will serve as both a working journalist and an editorial coach for AHCJ members nationwide, producing reporting and analysis for AHCJ’s Health Beat while piloting a new Health Editor Help Desk designed to provide direct editorial support to journalists who may not have access to experienced health editors.
The new position reflects AHCJ’s commitment to strengthening health journalism at a time when newsrooms face significant resource constraints and journalists navigate an increasingly complex health information environment.
AHCJ heard the need directly from members through surveys, focus groups and strategic planning, particularly from journalists working without access to specialized editorial support.
The pilot will also examine whether journalism associations can take on a new role as newsrooms contract: providing specialized expertise as a shared resource across the field.
“Farah brings the reporting experience, editorial judgment and commitment to supporting other journalists that we envisioned when we created this position,” said AHCJ Executive Director Kelsey Ryan. “The larger question is how journalism support organizations like ours can evolve alongside the journalists we serve. Training and resources remain essential, but we can also support journalists much closer to the work itself – when they’re making decisions about a story and need experienced guidance.”
Through the Health Editor Help Desk, Yousry will offer AHCJ members scheduled office hours and individual consultations on a range of editorial and reporting needs, including story framing, sourcing, investigations, data interpretation, records requests, health policy coverage and ethical questions.
I am honored to join AHCJ and to be tasked with launching an ambitious and essential project like the Help Desk. The idea behind the Help Desk, I believe, is rooted in equity, ensuring that independent journalists and resource-strapped newsrooms have access to high-quality editorial guidance when they need it most.
Farah Yousry
Journalist-in-residence, AHCJ
The Help Desk is intended to be particularly useful for freelance journalists, early-career reporters, journalists whose assigning editors lack health expertise, and reporters working in newsrooms where editors have limited time for coaching. The initiative will complement the role of an assigning editor or newsroom decision-maker, giving journalists an additional source of specialized editorial guidance.
Yousry brings more than a decade of reporting and editing experience to AHCJ. Most recently, she served as a managing editor at WFYI and Side Effects Public Media, a health reporting collaboration of NPR member stations across the Midwest. Her reporting and editing have appeared on NPR, KFF Health News, The Associated Press and other outlets.
Before moving to the Midwest, Yousry spent more than five years with BBC News’ Arabic service, reporting on stories ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to U.S. presidential elections. She began her journalism career in Egypt, where she provided on-the-ground coverage of the Arab Spring and the complex political developments that followed.
AHCJ members will learn more about the Health Editor Help Desk, including how to schedule consultations and participate in office hours, as the program launches.
