Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists

Racial Disparities in Health Coverage:
Prescriptions for Change

The Untold Story:
What Are We Missing?

A look at the important stories or trends that mainstream media area overlooking, underreporting or reporting in a stereotypical or superficial way.

Sara Lomax Reese Ways to empower the media and the public:
* The community should learn how to make the issue personal by contacting health reporters.
* The holistic approach to healthcare and the impact of health on other realities in minority communities should be given consideration.
* Health stories publicized through the media -- via magazines, radio television and street events -- are more likely to be consumed by the African American community.
* Journalists are encouraged to seek out new and different news sources, especially at senior centers, churches, beauty and barber shops and child care centers -- the places where they are more likely to find the people they need to reach.
* Community organizations should agitate to get their stories told, and they should empower themselves.
* Organizations should get on the agendas of national African American groups to talk about the subject of racial disparities in health.

Participants' thoughts and recommendations:
Why PABJ Chose This Issue
Forum Panel Members
Race: The X Factor
Healthcare Coverage: Politics and the Community
Making the Grade: Is it Ready for Prime Time?
Cultural Competency: Why it Matters
Putting the Public Back in Public Service Journalism
New Directions in News: Listen Up!
Mailing List of Participants

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