The National Health Journalism Fellowships program offers journalists an opportunity to explore the intersection between community health, health policy, and the nation's growing diversity. This program will be especially valuable for journalists interested in topics related to “health and place,” or how neighborhood, work and home environments impact health and life expectancy. As part of that exploration, our Fellows will see firsthand how race, ethnicity and class influence health with trips out in the field from our institute's home base in Los Angeles, an international city that has been called a "proving ground" for a multicultural society. California has the largest numbers of Asian and Latino residents in the nation, and many of the health challenges and opportunities that accompany changing demographics have been debated and legislated here.

During field trips and seminars, fellows hear from respected investigative journalists and leaders in community health, health policy, and medicine. They go home with a deeper understanding of current public health and health policy initiatives and gain insight into the larger picture of colliding interests and political battles over health policy. Participants also explore ways to document — through data and innovative storytelling techniques — the health inequities in their local communities. Hands-on workshops provide fellows with new sources, practical reporting tips and multimedia strategies to reach a broader digital audience.

In conjunction with the National Fellowship, we also administer the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, a competitive grants program to underwrite substantive reporting on community health issues. Each Hunt grantee participates in the National Fellowship and receives a $2,500 to $10,000 grant, instead of the National Fellowship stipend, to support research on a community health topic. The deadline for applications for the 2014 grants was April 18, 2014. Click here for details about how to apply to the 2015 National Fellowship and for a Hunt grant.

For more information, contact Martha Shirk at CAHealth@usc.edu.