Tag Archives: member benefits

Grow your freelance business with resources from AHCJ 

1 Reply
Closeup of person taking notes

Photo: Security & Defence Agenda via Flickr

Freelancers are always looking for resources to help find sources for stories, identify editors, improve pitches, connect with colleagues and run our small businesses. AHCJ is a rich source of material.

Moderated email discussion list: Join this community for support, encouragement and practical information from your fellow AHCJ members. It’s a great place to ask about possible sources to interview or for suggestions about outlets to pitch a particular story idea. (Click on “Networking” at the top of the AHCJ home page or https://healthjournalism.org/resources-listserv.php.)

Market Guides: This is where freelancers can find out what assigning editors at specific outlets want from writers. We ask editors to share information about fees, length of stories, where and how to pitch and common mistakes freelancers make when pitching story ideas. Currently, there are eighteen guides, including Scientific American and the BMJ. The guides are being updated and their number expanded. (Click on the “Freelancers” tab on the AHCJ homepage or https://healthjournalism.org/freelancers#marketguide.) Continue reading →

Barbara Mantel (@BJMantel), an independent journalist, is AHCJ’s freelance community correspondent. Her work has appeared in CQ Researcher, Rural Health Quarterly, Undark, Healthline, NBCNews.com and NPR, among others. She helps members find the resources they need to succeed as freelancers and welcomes your suggestions.

AHCJ members provide context for reporter’s medical marijuana story

Leave a reply

This is a guest post written at our request by Ryan Sabalow of the Redding (Calif.) Record-Searchlight.

I knew I was on the trail of a good health-business story one afternoon last summer when I switched over to Redding’s hip-hop radio station and heard a doctor advertising that for a mere $149, she’d evaluate a patient for medical marijuana use.

Ryan Sabalow

Ryan Sabalow

The story that emerged took a look at how a growing number of doctors in California are giving up traditional practices to make easy cash selling medical marijuana recommendations to just about anyone who wants one.

The story ended up winning a first-place award for best business story in the California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspapers contest.

The story wouldn’t have turned out so well without the help of members of the Association of Health Care Journalists, who helped me find ideas for a sidebar that explored how other states were handling the medical marijuana issue.

As I was researching the story, I asked AHCJ members on the organization’s electronic discussion list for pointers.

Within a few hours, I got a number of helpful tips and links to stories. One was about “cannabis caravans” in Montana.

In Colorado, a reporter suggested I get in touch with a source who criticized the fact that five doctors in that state account for half of all recommendations given to the state’s medical marijuana patients.

Those perspectives proved invaluable. And it’s fair to say the story wouldn’t have had the same context and impact without AHCJ’s help.

I’d suggest any reporter working on a local health story first shoot a note out on the list asking for some national perspectives.

I know I will.

Thanks, AHCJ.

[Editor’s note: We also suggest that AHCJ members search the list’s archive, which contains all of the messages that have been exchanged on the list since its 2001 inception. It’s a great way to tap the wisdom of our members.]

Pia Christensen (@AHCJ_Pia) is the managing editor/online services for AHCJ. She manages the content and development of healthjournalism.org, coordinates AHCJ's social media efforts and edits and manages production of association guides, programs and newsletters.