Ticks have proliferated – caused by the combination of overbuilding in previously forested areas, climate change and international trade.

We all know about the tick-borne disease – Lyme – which can cause debilitating nerve and other damage, but what are the new and emerging tick-borne diseases and where are they emerging? What does that mean for communities? What should reporters be writing about right now and what are the under covered stories related to tick-borne diseases? When will there be a vaccine for Lyme? What about the latest treatments and how can communities and individuals prevent getting bitten?

At 3 p.m. CST on May 25, AHCJ will offer a special webinar on an upcoming two-part film, produced by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, on the crisis in children’s mental health.

The PBS film, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness,” is an intimate examination of a crisis that the American Academy of Pediatrics called a public health emergency in 2021. The documentary is anchored by the anguished voices of 20 young people, ages 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as parents, teachers, friends, health care providers in their lives, along with mental health experts with deep knowledge of youth mental health.

Gathering the information you need to tell your story can mean finding sources to interview, searching the medical literature, and digging through archives, databases or social media. In our May 19  Lunch & Learn, we’ll dig into reporting and sourcing stories. Whether you’re reporting a fast-turnaround news story or a juicy feature, you’ll come away with plenty of helpful info