Meeting the moment in health care journalism

Deep, fact-based reporting on health care, it turns out, can be good for business. STAT, the health and medical science vertical produced by Boston Globe Media, has experienced its biggest growth since the first months of the Covid pandemic. Nieman Lab’s Hanaa’ Tameez reports on the numbers, saying “chaos in the public health space has led more news consumers to STAT.”

STAT is an example of a publication fueled by the current moment. And the moment in health care journalism right now is a challenging one, as reporters not only cover the dismantling of federal health agencies and explain potential cuts to programs like Medicaid, but also contend with widespread misinformation — sometimes from the government itself.

Just last week, the outlet NOTUS reported that the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” report was rife with errors, erroneous conclusions and sources that don’t exist at all.

Meanwhile, Trump’s big budget and tax bill is being sold based on falsehoods about cuts to Medicaid, as documented by The New York Times’ fact-checker Linda Qiu.

And when it comes to mental health, misinformation from non-experts is rampant. A Guardian investigation found that more than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation.

One of the examples cited: Eating an orange in the shower will help reduce anxiety.

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

>> Fountain Hills Town Council members retaliate against local newspaper for its reporting (Arizona Republic)

The town council in Fountain Hills, Ariz., removed a press table from its chambers because it didn’t like coverage of its meetings by the local paper, the Times Independent, writes the Arizona Republic’s Taylor Seely. The move was intended to “send a message” to the paper, the vice mayor told Seely, but it has raised eyebrows among First Amendment advocates.

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Culture & Inclusion

>> The Girls from Boston (WBUR)

Meg Heckman, a journalism professor at Northeastern University in Boston, has been sifting through old newspaper clippings from The Boston Globe in an effort to find influential local women journalists who have been overlooked. What she’s found, she writes for WBUR, is a fascinating story about a group of women who were film critics, known as “The Girls from Boston.” Yet there is a lack of detailed information about these women, she writes, “a familiar frustration for anyone documenting the contributions of women and other marginalized groups.”

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Community Engagement & Trust

>> New from API: The power of intergenerational storytelling to solidify community and effect change

Americans of different generations often operate in their own social or cultural spheres, sometimes unaware of the ties between them. But news organizations can help bridge those divides by tapping into the powerful tools of storytelling, which convey rich human emotion and texture, to connect people of different ages. One publisher in Colorado is using a local legend that has intergenerational appeal — a horse named Lucky — as part of a storytelling effort to help build community.

+ How the young are helping local news media survive: The Global Youth & News Media Prize journalism award, of which API is a national partner, this year spotlights successful youth collaborations that contribute to the survival of local news outlets. Deadline for entries is June 16. Learn more here.

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Revenue & Resilience

>> Join us: Hear from innovative news leaders in two live sessions this month

As part of its collaboration with the News Revenue Hub to help local news leaders pursue new revenue and social strategies, API this month will hold two live sessions with news leaders in which they will answer questions about diversifying revenue streams and engaging audiences.

  • The Nashville Banner’s Steve Cavendish will join us on June 10 at noon ET for a discussion on how to lean into local identity and history to sustain business and strengthen community relationships. Learn more and register here. 
  • The Forward’s Jake Wasserman will discuss how to use unique audience personas to grow and better serve multigenerational communities on June 24 at noon ET. Learn more and register here. 

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What else you need to know

🖊️ The Washington Post plans an influx of outside opinion writers (The New York Times)

🌡️ How climate reporting is impacting mental health (Reuters Institute)

✂️ Minnesota Star Tribune offers employees buyouts (Minnesota Reformer)

🛡️ Former rehab CEO charged with harassing journalists behind ‘The 13th Step’ podcast (Inside Radio)