- http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/09/doctor-says-it-wont-hurt
- http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/03/teenagers-endometriosis-pain
- http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/04/death-from-pertussis
- http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2012/11/mit-meltdown-blog-stressed-students
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Rachel Zimmerman
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
When The Doctor Says This Won’t Hurt A Bit — And Incredibly, It’s True — Sept. 14, 2012 Secret Suffering: Teens With Endometriosis And Years Of Baffling Pain — March 23, 2012 From First Cold To Grave: How Two-Month-Old Brady Died Of Pertussis — April 27, 2012 MIT ‘Meltdown’ Blog Resonates With Stressed-Out Students — Nov. 9, 2012
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
1. Zimmerman’s 7-year-old is rushed to the emergency room after an accident and encounters a remarkable doctor who has spent a career figuring out how to reduce children’s pain and parents’ anxiety 2. A teenager suffers from terrible abdominal pain but consults with numerous medical specialists before she is diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition women often endure for years in silence. 3. A two-month-old dies of pertussis, a contagious, but preventable bacterial disease that is on the rise nationally 4. An MIT undergrad blogs about her mental and emotional “meltdown” in a piece that resonates with stressed-out college students across the country.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Research for these deeply reported multimedia stories mainly involved long interviews with patients, doctors, medical specialists, public health experts as well as online and medical research.
Explain types of human sources used.
Human sources included key players, among them a 7-year-old and a teenager, their parents and doctors, mental health specialists and outside researchers.
Results:
Each of these stories was cited in other blogs, social media and various publications. Numerous comments and direct email from readers thanked us for publishing on underreported topics. The story of the 7 year old got over 9,000 “likes” on Facebook. All of the stories were featured on the air on WBUR radio programs.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No corrections
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Go for great, raw stories with an emotional punch, and don’t be afraid to tell your own personal story when it might help others. If it’s compelling to you, it will probably grab readers as well.