Association of Health Care Journalists

1 week ago | healthjournalism.org | Anna Medaris

From pitching into an apparent void to dealing with “scope creep” — or when an assignment involves a lot more than what was originally agreed upon, without added compensation — freelance writers deal with some particular challenges that staff journalists typically do not. Of course, all journalists face many of the same issues from time to time too, whether it’s managing burnout, combatting procrastination or disagreeing with an editor’s changes.

1 week ago | healthjournalism.org | Tara Haelle

This story is the first in a four–part series. The next article will look at the history and background of bird flu, including H5N1 and provide key resources for reporting on this topic. It was challenging enough to cover the COVID-19 pandemic in real-time as it developed, but how do you cover an almost-it-could-happen-but-we-don’t-know-yet pandemic that might or might not ever come to fruition?

1 week ago | healthjournalism.org | Kaitlin Washburn

Last summer, Vivek Murthy, M.D., declared firearm violence a public health crisis, the first time the Office of the Surgeon General had issued a publication focused on guns. Experts and violence prevention advocates celebrated this unique opportunity to draw attention and resources to this often undercovered issue. The advisory “outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country,” Dr. Murthy said at the time.

2 weeks ago | healthjournalism.org | Anna Medaris

When Chris Gayomali got laid off by Conde Nast in 2024, he started spending more time at the gym. “I was working out all of the time because I didn’t have anything else to do,” said Gayomali, who’d worked as an editor for GQ for nine years.

2 weeks ago | healthjournalism.org | Lara Salahi

Each day, headlines highlight large-scale drug raids, accompanied by photos of seized contraband and statements from law enforcement heralding the success of their efforts. However, a recent study published in the journal Public Health in Practice suggests that this coverage overwhelmingly neglects a crucial element: public health messaging. Only 1% of the 211 drug seizure-related articles analyzed included any mention of substance use disorder treatment or recovery resources, the study found.