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. 

Wakefield's Wake, Part 1: Media should help undo damage from vaccine-autism hoax

By William Heisel

<p>Andrew Wakefield — creator of one of the greatest&nbsp;scares in medical history — had many accomplices in misleading the world about a link between vaccines and autism. Many in the media helped him spread his intellectual poison. Celebrities rallied behind his fake cause. And the scientific community helped keep the hoax alive by citing his work as if it were legitimate.</p>

On "The Bittersweet American Dream"

By Pedro Frisneda

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div>When I was selected to be part of The California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship program back in June 2010, I had three story ideas I wanted to develop for my fellowship projects. They involved three major health problems affecting the Latino community in the United States: health disparities of Latino women, diabetes and obesity among Mexican immigrants and Latinos affected by HIV/AIDS.</div></div>

Q&A with Dr. Steven Balt, Part 2: Physician discipline should be better targeted

By William Heisel

<p>Last week Antidote introduced you to Dr. Steven Balt, the rare physician to have the courage to open up about his personal experiences with the physician discipline system. The <a href="../../../../../../../../blogs/qa-dr-steven-balt-part-1-separating-personal-struggles-clinical-success">first part of our interview</a> was posted last week. The last part is below. <strong></strong><strong></strong></p>