Insights

<p>In today's <em>Daily Briefing</em>, studies and statistics show us surprising things about health. In the "health by zip code" files, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation have released their <a href="http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/">second annual county health rankings</a>. Janice Simmons at FierceHealthcare <a href="http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/counties-ranked-online-overall-he… the report</a> and <em>Marketplace</em> reports that <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/03/30/am-a-surprise… healthiest county in the country actually doesn't have great health care options</a>.</p>

<p>Yep, it's that time again: The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation today released their second annual <a href="http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/">rankings of health in America's counties</a>. And so I'm reposting some context and story ideas from last year's rankings - they're still applicable this year.</p>

<p>Low trace levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been found in <a href="http://m.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_41167/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=BD82E… in Massachusetts</a>. Now, as Doc Gurley r

<p>William Heisel interviews Michele Simon, public health attorney and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Profit-industry-undermines-health/dp/156… for Profit</a>, who wants people to rethink what they are eating and why. She peers through the food industry marketing to see what big packaged food manufacturers and restaurant giants are really selling.</p>

<p>Today in the Daily Briefing&nbsp;we're reading about conflicts of interest, Google Health and wars that don't end at home.</p>

<p><p>I received my first cigarettes around the time I got my first iron, stove, and refrigerator. This was the sixties, and the appliances were toys. The cigarettes were candy.</p><p>Looking back, I don't know what bothers me the most these days. The fact that I was being prepared for housework at such a young age, or that I was being prepared to smoke</p></p>

<p>A few months ago, I conducted a seminar on using library resources for public health reporting. It was presented to students in the UC Berkeley School of Journalism's Reporting on Public Health class.</p>

<p>A selection from the weekend, long and short reads, and a video in today's <em>Daily Briefing</em>.</p>

<p>Once the Great&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/ki.asp">Potassium Iodide</a>&nbsp;panic began, most Americans received messages saying “Don't Panic” on Twitter, on Facebook, the Internet. And that was the responsible media thing to do, right? Here's what may be wrong with that approach, neurologically speaking.</p>

<p>We are proud to have six California Endowment Health Journalism Fellows among the winners this year of the Association of Health Care Journalists’ Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism.&nbsp;And we are grateful to the AHCJ for offering these valuable prizes. The Health Journalism Fellows'&nbsp;commitment to quality health journalism is apparent both in their selection of topics and their execution of complex pieces. One Fellow, Caitlan Carroll, was honored for Fellowship Project. Others were honored for other work outside of our program.</p>