Insights

You learn a lot when you spend months reporting on a given issue or community, as our fellows can attest. Whether you’re embarking on a big new story or seeking to go deeper on a given issue, it pays to learn from those who’ve already put in the shoe leather and crunched the data. In these essays and columns, our community of journalists steps back from the notebooks and tape to reflect on key lessons, highlight urgent themes, and offer sage advice on the essential health stories of the day. 

Author(s)
By Stephanie Woodard

Diabetes prevention on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota

Author(s)
By Gary Schwitzer

Don't wait for the next release of data, the next news release or next news conference. No matter where you live, there are local angles in the Atlas data. Read how you could mine the data anytime for local angles - even over the holidays.

Author(s)
By Sam Quinones

The Sandy Hook shooting was the seventh mass murder I’ve covered in my 26 years as a reporter – five of them in the last two years. In each case it’s struck me, the man lived in a tiny room and seemed to have trouble with anyone impinging on the universe that he alone occupied.

Author(s)
By Kate Benson

The psychiatric world is close to receiving an updated version of their “Bible.” Officially known as the DSM 5 this tome, published by the Association of Psychiatrists, under goes revision every couple of decades often accompanied by contentious issues and rancor.

Author(s)
By William Heisel

The best reporters are in a tough position. Their first love is news gathering, digging, tracking, hunting, cajoling, puzzling and un-puzzling. They are detectives without the persuasive power of a badge. And yet they also have to write it all down.

Author(s)
By Cindy Uken

There has been little public conversation and awareness about Montana's high suicide rates. That changed on Sunday, Nov. 25 when Billings Gazette Editor Steve Prosinski devoted an entire front page to the issue with two full, color inside pages, followed by front-page articles on Monday and Tuesday.

Author(s)
By Rebecca Plevin

Community clinics, doctors and medical facilities are already struggling to provide appropriate, culturally competent medical translation to diverse populations, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act could exacerbate the situation.