The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Health Coverage Fellowship is designed to help print, radio, and television media do a better job covering critical health care issues.  The first of its kind in the country, the Fellowship aims to enhance the awareness and knowledge of both the public and policy makers regarding critical health issues by intensively training health journalists.

The year-long fellowship, now in its ninth year, features an intensive nine-day residency program each spring. It is housed at Babson College’s Center for Executive Education in Wellesley, and is operated in collaboration with leading journalism organizations. The fellowship is directed by Larry Tye, a former Nieman fellow who covered health and the environment for 15 years at the Boston Globe and has written five books.

The Fellowship curriculum features more than 70 top health officials, policy experts, and researchers as speakers and covers issues such as insuring the uninsured, mental illness, backups in emergency rooms, ethnic and economic disparities in the delivery of care, and environmental health. Attention also is given to public health emergencies: fellows learn about the deadly capabilities of illnesses like H1N1 and about the capabilities — and limits — of public health authorities who respond to bioterrorism threats and disease outbreaks. The program also brings the fellows out into the field to watch first-hand how the system works, from walking the streets at night with mental health case workers to riding in a Medflight helicopter.

When fellows return to their media outlets and newspapers, their fellowship experience continues. For the full year following their nine days in Wellesley, fellows have access to Larry Tye and the opportunity to receive ongoing support and coaching. Additionally, the program also maintains a web site where fellows can post their stories and stay connected to their cohort and other program alumni.

The Health Coverage Fellowship is a unique professional training program that differs in key ways from other journalism fellowships. Most media fellowships take seasoned journalists away from their jobs for a full year and require employers to pay part of the cost. In contrast, the Health Coverage Fellowship residency component lasts just nine days, requires no financial contribution from media outlets, and ensures that participating reporters and editors come back with a list of story ideas, a Rolodex of new sources, and a full year of free tutelage from a former Boston Globe medical reporter with 20 years of experience at small, mid-sized, and large newspapers.

 

For more information, please contact Lauren Birchfield at 617-246-5174.