April Dembosky’s work this year demonstrates a range of reporting skills, from meeting relentless breaking news deadlines on Congressional efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, to developing in-depth enterprise work, including a sound-rich, one-hour radio documentary.
All of her work showcases her unique ability to find original, even funny, angles on heavily covered health policy stories, and to identify the most compelling characters to illustrate complicated topics, even in the middle of a raging wildfire.
“Obamacare Inspires Unlikely Political Action in Red California” explains that while California is undeniably a blue state, some rural regions are staunchly conservative, voting 70 percent for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Public sentiment is firmly against the Affordable Care Act, even among patients who directly benefit from the law. So it was a bold move when rural health clinics and right-leaning elected officials decided to defend Obamacare. This feature was part of a three-part series on Red California that aired in the weeks before the critical repeal vote in the Senate. The stories were re-published in various national outlets, including the New York Times, National Public Radio, and Kaiser Health News.
“Giving Birth Is Hard Enough. Now Try It in the Middle of a Wildfire.” The deadliest, most destructive wildfires in California history broke out on Oct. 9, forcing the evacuation of two hospitals. The very next day, Dembosky had the detailed account of a woman who was in active labor when the flames threatened the hospital. This was one of 7 health stories Dembosky reported and wrote on deadline, during and immediately after the fires.
“Just Like My Mother: How We Inherit Our Parents’ Traits and Tragedies,” a story about the intergenerational transfer of trauma, went absolutely viral among our listeners. After airing on the radio, it was the number one most-read story on KQED’s website for two weeks. The story profiled a second-generation Vietnamese woman, whose parents fled Vietnam after the war, to explain how parents’ unresolved traumas can get passed down to their kids, through genes and unconscious behavior. The phenomenon was first recognized in the 1960s in the children of Holocaust survivors, and carries great implications for the refugees of current wars in the Middle East.
“Soundtrack of Silence” is an hour-long radio documentary about a young man who finds out in his early 20s that he has a disease that will cause him to lose his hearing. His reaction: sit down and memorize as many songs as he can, so he can remember them in his head once total deafness arrives. In addition to being a compelling human portrait and informative piece of in-depth reporting, the documentary showcases Dembosky’s skills as an audio producer and long-form storyteller. She makes creative use of ambient sound to turn complex scientific concepts into delightful moments of discovery, and weaves music with voices to punctuate the emotional impact of the narrative.
“Ignored By Obamacare, Vasectomies Find a Champion in ‘March Madness’ Marketing” is a unique take on the news that the Trump administration planned to roll back the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act. Dembosky found a creative story arc to capture listeners’ attention, while weaving in informative data about contraceptive trends and original analysis on the proposed policy change.