Health Media Jobs and Opportunities: Niche Reporters in Demand

Author(s)
Published on
September 30, 2011

Reporters with multi-beat experience are in high demand this week at a variety of news organizations. Take note of upcoming health journalism fellowship deadlines this month, in addition to the latest information on workshops and other educational opportunities.

To keep up with the latest discussions on topics relevant to health journalists, follow Career GPS posts and job listings via RSS. To submit a job listing, please email knativid@usc.edu.

 

Featured Listing

Medical/Personal Finance Reporter, SmartMoney magazine (via JournalismJobs)
Location: New York, NY
Status: Full Time
Medium: Print

"SmartMoney magazine is looking for a reporter to cover personal finance topics, with a focus on medicine and healthcare. Conceive, report and write short stories to longer features. Ability to think broadly about stories and trends is a must. Expertise in medical reporting is a plus. At least three to five years' professional journalism experience required."

 

New Job and Internship Listings

Health and Higher Education Reporter, Aberdeen American News (via JournalismJobs)
Location: Abderdeen, South Dakota
Status: Full Time
Medium: Print, Online

Assistant Newsletter Editor, The ABIS Group (via JournalismJobs)
Location: Evanston, IL
Status: Full Time
Medium: Print, Online

Freelance Health Privacy Reporter, Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (via JournalismJobs)
Location: Washington, DC/Telecommute
Status: Freelance
Medium: Print

 

Fellowships and Grants

George Polk Grants for Investigative Reporting, Long Island University
Eligibility: Applicants should have a proven track record as an investigative reporter. Special consideration will be given to journalists who have been laid off or are no longer employed by a news organization.
Deadline: Unspecified
From the Website: This program is intended as a resource for the reporter who always has wanted to dig into a particular topic or who has developed useful expertise – who knows "where the bodies are buried" – on a matter of public interest that may be local, national or international in scope. Grants will range from $2,500 to $10,000, depending on the duration and complexity of the proposed project."

Spring 2012 Global Health Fellowship, International Reporting Project
Eligibility: U.S. journalists with at least five years of professional experience in any medium.
Deadline: Oct. 3, 2011
From the Website: "The International Reporting Project (IRP) is offering up to five IRP Fellowships for U.S. journalists to report on global health topics such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, maternal and child health or new scientific research aimed at reducing the impact of global diseases. The nine-week reporting Fellowships will begin in mid-February 2012 and extend through mid-April 2012. Fellows will spend two weeks in Washington at the IRP offices preparing for their overseas trips and then five weeks reporting on their chosen health topics in the country of their choice. Fellows will return to Washington for a final two weeks of reporting and presentations of their findings."

Food Writing/Reporting Fellowship for Immigrant Journalists, Feet in 2 Worlds
Eligibility: Open to staff or freelance immigrant and first-generation immigrant reporters and editors who work in any language.
Deadline: Oct. 7, 2011
From the Website: "Fellows will receive training in blogging and multimedia presentations (audio slide shows and podcasts), as well as on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. They will produce stories for the Feet in Two Worlds blog (news.feetintwoworlds.org) and for the news organization(s) for whom they normally report. There will also be opportunities for a select group of fellows to produce radio stories for broadcast online and on the air. This three-month fellowship runs from Oct. 31, 2011 to January 31, 2012."

AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellowships, Association of Health Care Journalists & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Eligibility: Fellowships are open to professional journalists working in the United States.
Deadline: Oct. 21, 2011
From the Website: "Ten fellows will be chosen to spend a week studying public health issues at two CDC campuses. The AHCJ-CDC Health Journalism Fellows will: attend sessions on epidemiology, global disease prevention efforts, pandemic flu preparedness, climate change, vaccine safety, obesity, autism and more; tour the CDC director's National Emergency Operations Center; meet new sources on policy and research; learn how to tap the agency's abundant resources to produce better stories." The fellowship dates are Dec. 4-8, 2011.

 

Educational Opportunities

Business of Health Care Workshop, Association of Health Care Journalists
Eligibility: Registration is open to AHCJ members and non-members.
Program: The workshop will take place Oct. 27-28 in San Francisco, CA, and will provide resources, skills and ideas that journalists can apply to their jobs immediately.
From the Website: Learn more about how to cover this tremendous economic engine beyond the routine stories, with tools to find essential information your audiences need, crossing the traditional beats of health, business and government. Panel topics will include: tapping the holy grail of hospital data, using online tools for journalists to visualize data, the effect of the economy and reform on health businesses, the insurance battles ahead, lunch with futurist and author Ian Morrison, Medicare at a crossroads" and much more.

 

Awards

K. Dunn Gifford Journalism Award, Oldways
Eligibility: The competition is open to all reporters (print, online & broadcast), freelancers and bloggers. The contest is open to original work published between January 1, 2010 - September 30, 2011. The piece must cover this year's theme - the Mediterranean diet.
Deadline: Oct. 1, 2011
From the Website: "Back in 1990, food enthusiast and advocate K. Dun Gifford started a nonprofit educational organization called Oldways to change the way people eat. He believed that positive and practical solutions, grounded in science, traditions and delicious foods and drinks, would help address the threatening tsunami of chronic diseases. As a tribute to our founder and visionary who died in May 2010, Oldways announces the K. Dun Gifford Journalism Award, an annual prize to recognize and honor the important role of communications in changing the way people eat. The 2011 winner will visit the beautiful Mediterranean Region where he or she is free to explore the culture, food, and atmosphere of the location freely, with no expectations or assignments."

 

Competitions

Digital Media Competition, 5th International Entertainment Education Conference
Eligibility: Entry is open to any individual, group, or company (profit or non-profit) in any country, except for staff of the EE5 Conference. The submission needs to have been produced after January 1, 2000.
Deadline: Midnight, Sept. 30, 2011
From the Website: "The EE5 Conference invites you to submit your most innovative and entertaining short-form digital production on the following topic: Motivating behavior change around any health topic."

Journalism contest on disability issues, Union of Russian Journalists and Russian Society of People with Disabilities (via ijnet)
Eligibility: Entries must be published from Dec. 1, 2010 - Oct. 31, 2011.
Deadline: Dec. 1, 2011
From the Website: "The competition is aimed to attract attention of media to the people with disabilities, their issues and challenges. Potential topics include inclusion of the people with disabilities into society and encouraging them to participate in the life of society actively."