The Association of Health Care Journalists has created this program with the support of The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Through our Center for Excellence in Health Care Journalism, we select 10-12 journalists annually from a specific region of the country for this special opportunity. The 2010-2011 fellowship class will come from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
The aim of the program is to provide already-established journalists with the tools needed to improve the depth and amount of coverage focused on localizing critical health issues. The program is designed by journalists for journalists. Although the training is spread over a year’s time, actual time away from the newsroom totals about two weeks.
Specifically, we provide:
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A day-and-a-half fellowship kickoff session with a special focus on state health policy. (Planned for Sioux Falls, S.D., July 14 & 15.)
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An intense one-week health reporting boot camp at the Missouri School of Journalism featuring some of the top health journalists in the country. (Aug. 14-18)
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Three days of customized briefings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. (Planned for Dec. 4-6.)
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An exclusive one-hour newsmaker webinar you can take part in from home or the office. (Planned for January.)
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Four days at Health Journalism 2012, the annual conference of AHCJ featuring dozens of workshops, panel sessions, field trips and news briefings with key health experts and policy makers. (Planned for Atlanta next April.)
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The one-day 2012 Rural Health Journalism Workshop. (Planned for Lincoln, Neb., in early June next year.)
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A professional membership in the Association of Health Care Journalists, with access to all print and Web-based member resources.
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Access to an experienced personal mentor from AHCJ’s 1,100-plus membership.
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A fellows-only listserv and Web page.
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Continuing resource support after the fellowship.
The program will cover training expenses, travel and lodging costs, registration and membership fees and most food costs. We only ask that you commit to attending the sessions with the other fellows.
We believe your reporting and writing will be stronger, your understanding of health issues related to medical research, health policy and the business of health care will be deeper and your ability to translate national trends into locally significant stories will be clearer.
Our application deadline is June 1. Download an application.
For comments from former fellows of our Midwest program, upon which this fellowship was built, check out the quotes page.