By USC Annenberg Public Affairs Staff

USC Annenberg’s Health Journalism Fellowships program launches its “Health Matters” webinar series this week, with a provocative online discussion with leading health care thinker Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D.
 
An architect of the Affordable Care Act, Emanuel will discuss ways that journalists can write more thoughtfully on aging and the hidden costs of overinvesting in prolonging the end of life. “Over the past 50 years, health care hasn’t slowed the aging process so much as it has slowed the dying process,” Emanuel said.
 
The Dec. 12 webinar is from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PST (1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST). To register, click here.
 
USC Annenberg has launched its “Health Matters” webinar series on the website ReportingonHealth.org, its online community. It aims to improve journalists’ understanding of health policy, health reform and community health and to contribute to better health journalism that informs and engages community members and policy makers.
 
The “Health Matters” webinar series has been launched with the generous support of the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, based in Washington, D.C. NIHCM Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving the U.S. health care system by funding and conducting research and educational activities and by fostering dialogue between public and private stakeholders. Earlier this year, NIHCM Foundation launched a new grant program to support health care journalism.
 
“USC Annenberg’s webinars on health policy will fill a critical training need in today’s newsrooms,” said USC Annenberg Health Journalism Fellowships Director Michelle Levander. “News outlets have devoted renewed attention to reporting on health policy in the wake of the Affordable Care Act, one of the most significant shifts in U.S. health policy. Yet most reporters assigned to the beat must learn about a complex new policy landscape on the fly.”
 
“Bringing health care experts and journalists together is critical to advancing ideas that will spur positive change,” said Nancy Chockley, President and CEO of NIHCM Foundation. “USC Annenberg shares this mission, and we are thrilled to support this important series.”
 
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