Health journalism fellows gain reporting skills, explore health stories

In the coming months, a select group of journalists from news organizations across the country will publish in-depth reports on topics ranging from hospital errors to the connection between gun violence and children’s health. Their reporting will come to life thanks to $53,500 in grants from the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism and the National Health Journalism Fellowships—both initiatives of USC Annenberg’s California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships. The program pairs these journalists with senior fellows who, over nine months, brainstorm and share information and reporting tools. The 2011 National Fellows, who receive reporting grants ranging from $2,000 to $7,000, were competitively selected based upon the strength, ambition and reach of proposals that examined the intersection of community health, health policy and the nation’s growing diversity. “We need high-quality, high-impact health journalism now more than ever to keep community health issues squarely in the public spotlight,” says Mary Lou Fulton, program manager for communication and media grants at The California Endowment, the Los Angeles-based health foundation that funds the USC Annenberg program. Read the full story here