This document outlines exercises and tasks for a health journalism course. It includes instructions to split into groups and identify different types of health stories, then select one story to research and summarize. It also provides a task to write an 800-1200 word essay explaining the importance of health reporting, using at least three examples. Students are asked to identify questions or issues and can contact the instructor via email or by visiting their office.

1. Damian Radcliffe
26th October 2015
Reporting Health Matters

2. Huge topic

3. Ebola

4. Dollars for Docs

5. Deep dive into a locality

6. Ethics

7. Social Media

8. Personal Impact

9. Domestic abuse

10. Colalife

11. Exercise 1
• Split into two groups
• In 5 minutes, identify 10+ types of health stories
• Share genre with the group
+ Theoretical/actual example in that genre

12. Exercise 2
• Working on your own you have 15 mins to…
1) Identify a strong health story in that genre
2) On the Google Doc complete:
headline – source – story summary – why it matters

13. Task 2: Why health journalism matters
• Write an 800-1,200 word essay for a new journalism handbook explaining why health
reporting is important.
• Think about how this fits with journalistic principles and purposes e.g. accountability,
informed citizens etc.
• Identify – and use - at least three examples of health stories to help illustrate your
points.
• You can produce a generic essay, or one which uses one particular type of health story
e.g. mental health, to do this.
DUE: 23:59 on 9th November

14. Questions?
Problems?
damianr@uoregon.edu
Or visit me in
201 Allen Hall