Insights

I recently attended a forum hosted by the USC Annenberg's California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, The California Endowment and Media Impact Funders focusing on the opportunity for philanthropies to utilize media to make the world a better place.

This was a story that began a year and a half before I ever wrote the first word. It was first brought to my attention in July 2011 that Michigan had a toxic history. Nearly 40 years ago, due to human error, cattle feed had been mixed with a flame retardant chemical called PBB.

Reporters Ruxandra Guidi and Erica Peterson live about 2,000 miles apart. But when they embarked on in-depth stories on environmental justices issues in their communities, they faced very similar challenges.

I've been selected to participate in the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship sessions in Los Angeles. Here's my game plan.

A study last week by researchers at UCLA published in the journal Academic Pediatrics garnered surprisingly few headlines. What makes this study unique is that it is the first to examine and discover that obesity parallels a long list of other health conditions in children.

Veteran environmental reporter recommends starting by reporting the basic story first - focusing on what the problem appears to be, and how authorities and businesses are responding.

While the news about her return to work was celebratory for all, Robin Roberts talked about some of the expected and probably didn't realize she also disclosed unexpected information.

In health care, sometimes less is more. Stories that don't explore this option can contribute to higher health care costs and unintended consequences like surgical injuries, pain pill addictions and health care-associated infections.

When it comes to health issues, the southeastern corner of Virginia usually is pretty average. That’s why I was surprised to discover a report that showed a city in my readership area has the highest cancer mortality rate in the state.

Always keep this in mind: Pills, devices and surgeries are often not the best option for most people.