The Kaiser Family Foundation is hosting the briefing, The Future of Health Care Journalism, where a new report examining the state of health care journalism and a survey of members of the Association of Health Care Journalists will be released. An expert panel will discuss the findings and the general topic. The event will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (breakfast and registration at 9 a.m.) at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center in the Kaiser Foundation’s Washington, D.C. offices, at 1330 G Street, NW.

As the news media industry faces upheaval of their business model, the need for reporting on health care developments continues during these economic times. Federal policymakers have already taken action on a number of health care issues, and debates about comprehensive health and entitlement reform may yet occur.

What impact has the upheaval in the news business had on the health beat at media outlets? Is the nature of health journalism changing? How has the coverage of health news been affected? Have new technologies enhanced health reporting? Is the future of health journalism a for-profit enterprise? These questions and more will be examined at the briefing by a group of experts.

Opening Remarks
Matt James, Senior Vice President, Media and Public Education, Kaiser Family Foundation

Presentation of Key Findings: Survey of Members of the Association of Health Care Journalists
Vicky Rideout, Vice President and Director, Program for the Study of Media and Health, Kaiser Family Foundation

Panel Discussion
Jackie Judd, Vice President and Senior Advisor for Communications, Kaiser Family Foundation (moderator)
Trudy Lieberman, President, Association of Health Care Journalists
Gary Schwitzer, Associate Professor, School of Journalism, University of Minnesota, and Director, HealthNewsReview.org
Jonathan Cohn, Health Policy Blogger, and Senior Editor, The New Republic
Laurie McGinley, Executive Editor, Kaiser Health News and former Deputy Bureau Chief for Global Economics and National Health Care Policy Correspondent, Wall Street Journal
January Payne, Associate Editor, Health Section, U.S.News & World Report

Concluding Remarks
Len Downie, former Executive Editor, The Washington Post