The Center for Health Journalism announces 2024 Data Fellows

by

Headshots of members of the 2024 Data Fellowship class.

October 8, 2024

The USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism is pleased to announce the selection of 17 talented and diverse journalists who will be participating in our 2024 Data Fellowship.

The 2024 fellowship class includes journalists from state and local outlets from across the nation, including The Boston Globe, The Detroit Free Press, The Des Moines Register, Mountain State Spotlight, and the Invisible Institute and City Bureau. The Data Fellowship also includes journalists reporting on California-focused projects for publications such as the San Diego Union-Tribune, The Sacramento Bee, Southern California News Group, Harper’s Magazine and CALÓ News. Nearly half of the fellows are journalists of color.

“This Fellowship helps reporters answer questions that can bring new accountability to unwieldy systems, identify structural obstacles and spark positive change for children, families and communities,” said Center Director Michelle Levander. “We’re excited and honored to work with this talented group of reporters.”

The competitive Data Fellowship program equips reporters to use the power of original data analysis to investigate health care, health equity and child well-being challenges, and to highlight promising paths forward. It includes four days of in-person training and five months of ongoing virtual training and mentorship with some of the nation’s most respected data journalists. Each fellowship project is supported by a $2,000 reporting grant.

In partnership with the Center for Health Journalism, reporters in this year’s Data Fellowship will produce ambitious data-informed news projects on topics such as racial disparities in the child welfare system, the increase in maternity care deserts, the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, and the hidden costs of the homelessness crisis. Data projects also will investigate a range of other issues, including child sex trafficking, chronic absenteeism, child poverty, the youth mental health crisis, and worsening environmental health threats.

The 2024 Data Fellowship is generously funded by grants from the California Health Care Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation and The California Endowment.

We are pleased to announce our 2024 Data Fellows:

Audrey Brown, San Francisco Public Press

Mercedes Cannon-Tran, Southern California News Group/Inland Empire

Sarah Conway, City Bureau

Wes Enzinna, Harper’s Magazine

Jacqueline Garcia, CALÓ News

Mary Ann Koruth, The Bergen Record/NorthJersey.com

Ariane Lange, The Sacramento Bee

Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe

Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA

Magaly Muñoz, The Oakland Post

Tammy Murga, The San Diego Union-Tribune