Covering public health isn’t just about reporting on the science. It’s about earning trust, navigating risks, and elevating voices that are too often ignored.
Five journalists experienced doing so firsthand during the inaugural Public Health Reporting Fellowship from the Institute and the Common Health Coalition.
Over six months, the fellows explored urgent and underreported public health challenges from emerging infectious diseases to the isolation of older adults across rural areas, immigrant communities, and other underserved populations. Fellows included:
- Ted Alcorn, an independent health and justice journalist
- Jamal Jordan, a multimedia documentarian and audience editor at The Washington Post
- Eleanor Klibanoff, women’s health reporter at The Texas Tribune
- Lygia Navarro, an independent journalist focused on Latine and health stories
- Amanda Seitz, a health policy reporter for The Associated Press
Here are some key themes from their reporting on connecting with sources, navigating challenges, and telling stories that matter.
Center the voices of those most affected. Ask yourself who is bearing the brunt of the issue and if their voices are being heard. In her story on avian flu outbreaks, Navarro focused not just on the science but on the farmworkers whose health and livelihoods were at risk. “I began to notice who wasn’t being talked about and who was also most at risk of H5N1, which are farm workers, many of whom are Latine immigrants,” Navarro said.
Leverage trusted intermediaries to reach difficult sources. Partner with clinics or nonprofits that already have established relationships. These connections can build trust with wary sources. “We were really lucky that we built trust with the director at a clinic,” Seitz said. “We were able to really take free rein for a couple of days at their clinic and follow folks everywhere.”
Build transparency with your sources. Take time to explain journalistic terms like “on background” or “off the record.” Allow people to go back and forth between different levels of transparency throughout their interviews. Setting these clear expectations builds trust. “Everybody I was speaking to was vulnerable in some way, because everybody essentially, if they said the wrong thing, was at risk of losing their job,” Navarro said.
Be upfront about potential risks. Don’t downplay what it means to go on the record. Seitz stressed the importance of informed consent. Ensure sources fully understand the implications of being named or photographed, without promising what you can’t guarantee. “As a reporter, you don’t want to lose that source, but you have to be honest with people about the risk they’re taking,” Seitz said.
Remember why your reporting matters. Focus on the people affected. Keeping the human impact front and center makes your coverage more powerful. “These stories are really important, and because they’re hard to tell right now is all the more reason to tell them,” Klibanoff said.
Trust your instincts and persist. Pursuing stories on health inequities takes time, persistence, and empathy. Follow your gut and stay committed to finding the truth. “Sometimes you get a good idea, and people say no to you. My point of view is always to take it to other people, and eventually you’ll find someone that will let you write it,” Alcorn said.
Highlight stories of hope and resilience. Alongside the challenges, seek out examples of positive change. Jordan reminded journalists that readers crave inspiration and reminders of what’s possible, both individually and collectively. “We’re really desperate to be reminded of the things that we should also aspire to, societally and personally, and I want to remind people to look for those stories as well,” Jordan said.
About the 2025 Public Health Reporting fellows:
- Ted Alcorn, an independent journalist who reports on health and justice for numerous publications and an adjunct at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. His project will focus on the large and growing health disparities between rural and urban areas in cancer treatment and outcomes. Read Ted’s final project here.
- Jamal Jordan, a multimedia documentarian currently working as an audience editor at The Washington Post. He’s the author of “Queer Love in Color,” a book of photos and stories based on his New York Times project of the same name. He plans to report on the ways public health officials, organizers, and community members have addressed America’s loneliness epidemic among senior citizens as a public health issue.
- Eleanor Klibanoff, the Texas Tribune’s women’s health reporter based in Austin, where she covers abortion, maternal health care, gender-based violence, and LGBTQ issues. She will report on maternal healthcare among rural communities.
- Lygia Navarro is an award-winning bilingual and disabled independent journalist working in long-form narrative print and audio with a focus on health and Latine stories. She plans to investigate the immigrant workers most affected by H5N1 and how public policy could be improved for the benefit of these workers and the health of the whole country.
- Amanda Seitz is a healthcare policy reporter for The Associated Press based in Washington, D.C. She reports on how complex decisions made in the nation’s capital shape the way people around the country receive health care. Her project will uncover the impact President Donald Trump’s immigration policies have on U.S. public health and how community organizations in Texas are trying to reach migrants to provide health care, despite their concerns about mass deportations and arrests. Read Amanda’s final project here.
Additional resources
- Common Health Coalition website
- NEW: PopHIVE: Population Health Information and Visualization Exchange (PopHIVE)
- Video: Building Bridges — Success stories in closing the gap in public health and care systems
- County Health Rankings & Roadmaps
- Key non-gov health data sources include:
- How America’s Health Rankings Helps Tackle Social Isolation (AHR)
- CDC’s Welcome to the Behavioral Risk Factors Data Portal
- Rural Health Information Hub
About the Common Health Coalition
The Common Health Coalition: Together for Public Health brings together leading health organizations in pursuit of a reimagined health system: one in which the nation’s health care and public health systems no longer work in parallel, but hand in hand — with better health for all as the common goal.
The Common Health Coalition is hosted by the Institute for Public Health Innovation, a non-profit that builds cross-sector partnerships, promotes health equity, and works to create effective public health systems and policies that foster healthy communities. To sign up for the newsletter or learn more, visit commonhealthcoalition.org and follow on LinkedIn.
About the National Press Club Journalism Institute
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute depends on grants, foundation funds, and contributions from individuals like you. Your donation today allows the Institute to offer the majority of its programming at no cost.