USC Annenberg launches Health Journalism Impact Fund

I'm very pleased to announce the Center for Health Journalism's new Impact Fund which will support results-focused, explanatory and investigative reporting on the health of underserved communities. 

With the support of the Fund, we seek to harness the creativity and investigative smarts within newsrooms, encourage news collaborations, especially between ethnic and mainstream media, and individual journalists, providing resources and mentoring to help them important projects at a pivotal moment – when the future of healthcare and social welfare benefits has become more central to the national debate than ever before.

In its first round of awards, the Center for Health Journalism’s Impact Fund will provide reporting grants to four to eight journalists or media outlets to undertake investigative or explanatory health reporting projects in California.  California-focused projects may be proposed either by journalists at California-based outlets or at national outlets. The Fund will support health projects proposed by individual reporters, intra-newsroom teams or multiple media outlets working together. Preference will be given to mainstream-ethnic media collaborations.

Grantees also receive six months of mentoring – guidance on everything from story development to relevant sources to new modes of storytelling. Grants will range from $2,000-$10,000, depending on the scope of the project.

The Fund invites proposals that illuminate our national debate on healthcare policy and changes to the social safety net. The Fund also will support journalism on how community conditions can shape lives and community health.

Explorations can range from a look at environmental conditions where people live and work to the impact of race and ethnicity on health, or how poverty and education can shape well-being. The center is especially interested in investigative or explanatory reporting projects that advance public understanding of and health policy for underserved or vulnerable populations, which could include people living in low-income neighborhoods, rural areas, prisons, foster homes, juvenile detention centers or homeless encampments.

The Fund also aims to advance what we at the Center for Health Journalism calls “impact journalism,” which marries powerful narratives, data and community engagement to serve as a catalyst for change.

The Impact Fund’s 2018 California grants are made possible by the generous support of The California Wellness Foundation. 

For more information and details about how to apply, visit the Center for Health Journalism Impact Fund Landing Page or write CAHealth@usc.edu.