Insights

<p><span><p>Our project will focus on childhood obesity and the role food and beverage marketing plays in it. We'll look at how the junk-food marketing world has changed over the years, and dig into the latest trends in Internet marketing.</p></span></p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading today:</p> <p><strong>Transplant:</strong> Kudos to Reuters Health reporter Frederik Joelving for exposing a New York Post story about alleged “Bronx wife-killer” Joey Concepcion getting a liver transplant <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE66R38620100728">as flat-out wrong</a>. Will heads roll at the Post? The Village Voice has a <a href="http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/07/the_new_yor… wrap-up</a> – with some unanswered questions – on the fiasco.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading today:</p>

<p>Methamphetamine has proven to be so addictive and so socially destructive that, like cocaine in the 1980s, it is now the Big Bad Drug. It has been the subject of countless news stories, a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOX57s9c_Ww">critically acclaimed television series</a>, a <a href="http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/07/22/Arts/12162.html">best-selling book</a> and <a href="http://www.davidjohnsen.com/travels/2007pnw/02MontanaMeth1.jpg">spooky folk art billboards</a>.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading (and watching) today:</p> <p><strong>Generics:</strong> Veteran journalist Merrill Goozner (whose <a href="http://www.gooznews.com/">GoozNews blog</a> should be on your regular reading list) reports on a study showing how <a href="http://www.gooznews.com/node/3396">Medicaid could switch more patients to generics</a> to save money. Many of Medicaid’s 45 million recipients are still using brand name drugs long after generics become available. What’s happening in your state’s Medicaid program?</p>

<p>Camden, New Jersey, which sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, is known as one of the nation’s most violent and impoverished cities. But as Camden’s mostly black and Latino residents navigate dangerous streets and crushing poverty, they also face a broken healthcare system. With limited access to primary care, about half of all Camden residents visit a hospital every year. The top 10 reasons for emergency room visits were all primary care issues, with the common cold topping the list.</p>

<p>Here’s what we’re reading (and watching) today:</p>

<p>Where does one go to find <a href="http://bit.ly/ajlELB">an insurance fraudster</a>?</p> <p>As with most stories, you need to think about the people connected to, or affected by, your subject, and the paper trail your subject may have left behind. I’ll start with the people and talk about the paper trail in later posts.</p>

<p>Reporting on the social and health effects of urban violence without falling victim to stereotypes or clichés is just plain hard. In <a href="../../../../../../../../blogs/covering-urban-violence-public-health-problem">Thursday’s post</a>, I looked at some of the history and context for looking at violence as a public health issue. In this post, some veteran journalists share their tips for reporting on violence and the communities where it is pervasive.</p>

<p>One of the central ironies for beleaguered journalism job hunters today is that the demand for content is huge. If you are among those who regularly scour journalism job sites, you might have noticed that some of the most common listings are calls for writers to produce short articles at low piecemeal rates.</p>