Leading journalists taking part in Mayo Clinic-Cronkite Medical Journalism Fellowship

Journalists from the New York Times, CBS News, the Washington Post and Univision are among the participants of a new medical journalism program created by Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Sixteen journalists from across the country are in Arizona this week as part of the Mayo Clinic-Cronkite Fellowship, which provides five days of intensive medical journalism training at Mayo Clinic campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale and the Cronkite School on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. The all-expenses-paid fellowship program runs from May 13–18.

At Mayo Clinic, fellows are attending sessions on regenerative medicine, augmented human intelligence and other medical innovations and will participate in a hands-on experience that simulates the high-pressure situations that doctors face in emergency and operating rooms. Instructors include neurosurgery expert Dr. Bernard Bendok, women’s health internal medicine expert Dr. Jewel Kling and critical care expert Dr. Ayan Sen and neurologist Dr. Joseph Sirven.

At the Cronkite School, fellows are engaging in in-depth workshops on data journalism, narrative writing, video storytelling and social media and digital metrics, among other topics. The program is being led by Julia Wallace, the Cronkite School’s Frank Russell Chair and former editor-in-chief of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I’m thrilled to be working with such all-star group of fellows,” Wallace said. “They have remarkable experience and have done great work in providing quality information about health care.”

Professors from the Cronkite School include Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Sarah Cohen; Weil Family Professor of Journalism Leonard Downie Jr., the former executive editor of the Washington Post; Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Jacquee Petchel; analytics expert Jessica Pucci; and former New York Times Phoenix Bureau Chief Fernanda Santos.

The fellowship is part of the Mayo Clinic and ASU Alliance for Health Care, a transformative research partnership designed to improve all aspects of health care delivery through research and collaboration. Announced in 2016, the partnership aims to transform medical education and health care in the U.S., helping doctors reduce costs, simplify the system and save more lives.

2018 Mayo Clinic-Cronkite Medical Journalism Fellows

Lindsey Bever, general assignment reporter, the Washington Post, Washington, D.C.

Amy Birnbaum, medical news reporter, “CBS Evening News,” New York

Kaitlyn Chana, founder and president, Reel Stories. Real People. Inc., Jacksonville, Florida

Hyacinth Empinado, multimedia producer, STAT, Boston

Sherry Hsieh, editor of startups and health, Orange County Business Journal, Irvine, California

Caroline Kee, health writer and reporter, BuzzFeed, New York

Beth Kutscher, senior news editor/health care, LinkedIn, San Francisco

Andy Marso, health care reporter, the Kansas City Star, Kansas City, Missouri

Ashley May, multiplatform producer, USA Today, Washington, D.C.

Lesley McClurg, science and health reporter, KQED/NPR, San Francisco

Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, health care reporter, the Boston Globe, Boston

Anahad O’Connor, health reporter, the New York Times, San Francisco

Shelia Poole, reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta

Sabriya Rice, health care reporter, the Dallas Morning News, Dallas

Kristen Jordan Shamus, columnist/reporter, Detroit Free Press, Detroit

Maria Alesia Sosa, digital journalist, Univision Noticias, Miami