On this episode, we’re joined by journalists Tara Haelle and Bara Vaida to talk about the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) and health journalism in the age of Covid-19. They explained what the organization does, why it is invaluable to health care journalists as an informational and networking resource, as well as their role as topic leaders in medical studies and infectious disease, respectively.
Tara talked about the importance of media understanding the different stages of vaccine development. Bara talked about writing about pandemic preparedness and why it’s important for reporters to understand the connection of politics and health care.
They explained the challenges that occur when some political reporters enter the health journalism landscape – understanding that evidence trumps “both sides” reporting. They talked about the value of Twitter in helping them find public health experts and lessons learned that could be applied to reporting on future health care issues (such as health care disparities, listening to the right experts for the right questions, and building public health literacy).
We ended the discussion by talking about their journalistic passions, what advice they would have for future journalists, and what journalism organizations they would like to salute.
Notable Links
AHCJ website
AHCJ Twitter
Tara’s Twitter
Bara’s Twitter
Tara’s website, TedXTalk on vaccination, and parenting book
Bara’s website and pandemic preparedness article
Cyd Zeigler, Co-Founder, Outsports.com
Trân Nguyễn , San Jose Spotlight
Alissa Quart, Economic Hardship Reporting Project
Donnell Suggs, Editor-in-Chief, The Atlanta Volce
Wesley Early, Reporter: Alaska Public Media
Jane Wolfe, Author- Burl: Journalism Giant and Medical Trailblazer
Ben Welsh, Visiting Senior Data Journalist at Stanford University
John Vitti: Multi-Platform Sports Editor, Teacher, Founder: Headliners in Education
Alexis Terrazas, Editor-In-Chief, El Tecolote
Katie Hawkins-Gaar: Digital Women Leaders; My Sweet Dumb Brain
Ahmed Ahmed, Nevada Student Journalist of the Year
Anushka De, National Student Journalist of the Year
Erin Perry, Managing Editor of Outlier Media
Mariel Padilla, General Assignment Reporter: The 19th
Nicole Neroulias Gupte, Global Press Journal; Trailing-Spouse.com
James Queally, Crime & Police Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Javeria Salman, Digital News Producer, Staff Writer: The Hechinger Report
Aneri Pattani, Reporter: Kaiser Health News
Jen Maxfield, WNBC-TV Reporter/Author "More After The Break"
Mary C. Curtis, Columnist: Congressional Quarterly Roll Call
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