NABJ Media Institute on Health Reporting: Covering Untold Stories of Health in Greater Los Angeles

NOVEMBER 10, 2012

Keck Lecture Hall Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Los Angeles, CA

The National Association of Black Journalists gratefully acknowledges the support and participation of our sponsors. Without you, we would not be able to provide services and programs to our members who help educate and broaden the worlds understanding of critical issues.

Sponsor contributions allow NABJ to provide quality programming to journalists, media professionals, journalism students and educators all year long through the NABJ Media Institute.

Dear NABJ Family,

n behalf of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Journalists, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2012 NABJ Media Institute on Health Reporting in Greater Los Angeles: Covering Untold Stories. Our distinguished panelists will offer their unique perspectives on health issues, nationally and in our local communities, and provide Institute attendees the opportunity to have an intimate dialogue with leaders known and respected for their work in the health arena. NABJs leadership is hard at work making NABJ indispensable to you; creating projects and programs that will bolster the strength of NABJ, pushing for jobs, creating training opportunities and advocating for better representation of African-Americans in media coverage. This special conference has offered networking and training opportunities to many journalists, equipping them with the vital information needed to improve health coverage by digging into the economic and social dynamics that impact African-American health. Journalists and media professionals will leave with resources to inform and empower news consumers. I would also like to give a special thanks to our conference chairs, Bob Butler and Cindy George as well as their team for organizing such a great program. Thank you again for joining us for what promises to be a dynamic conference. It is our hope that you will find our program helpful and can take what you have learned back to your newsrooms to shed light on health disparities.

In Service, Gregory Lee Jr. President National Association of Black Journalists

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National Association of Black Journalists 38th Annual Convention & Career Fair July 31 August 4, 2013 Orlando, Florida Gaylord Palms

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Dear NABJ Members and Guests, elcome to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Media Institute on Health Reporting. The goal of this free, one-day conference is to give journalists tools to more effectively report on health stories in underserved communities. It is an important program given the reduction of training budgets at news media companies during the recession. As the program chairs, we have pulled together some of the top experts in fields of health and wellness. In our morning sessions, our speakers will discuss how your community and your environment affect your health and how the Affordable Care Act was impacted by Tuesdays election. After lunch, well examine what role stress plays in the health outcomes of people of color and the poor and well offer tips and tools journalists can use to produce better stories about health in underserved communities. On behalf of the NABJ Board of Directors, the staff and our members wed like to thank our sponsors whose support made this conference possible: the California HealthCare Foundation, First 5 LA, The California Endowment, SAG-AFTRA and the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. We also want to thank our speakers and conference attendees whose participation will help arm journalists with tools to spread important messages of good health to their readers, listeners and viewers. Yours in Service, Bob Butler Conference Co-Chair | NABJ Vice President of Broadcast Reporter, KCBS Radio Cindy George Conference Co-Chair | NABJ Parliamentarian Health Reporter, Houston Chronicle
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About NABJ

ounded by 44 men and women on December 12, 1975, in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of journalists, students and media-related professionals that provides quality programs and services to and advocates on behalf of black journalists worldwide. Many of NABJs members also belong to one of the dozens of professional and student chapters that serve black journalists nationwide. The NABJ Media Institute offers quality web seminars and handson professional development, entrepreneurial guidance, technical training at national and regional conferences as well as sponsored events around the country. NABJ will host its next Annual Convention and Career Fair in Orlando, July 31- August 4, 2013. Thousands of the nations foremost journalists, students, educators and media professionals will gather to partake in full and half-day seminars designed to strengthen and enhance their skills. For additional information visit, www.nabj.org.

President Gregory Lee V.P of Broadcast Bob Butler

NABJ Board of Directors

Region III Director Dedrick Russell Region IV Director A. J. Ross Region V Director Mary Benton

V.P of Print Errin Haines Secretary Lisa D. Cox Treasurer Keith Reed

Region VI Director Michelle Parliamentarian Fitzhugh Cindy George Craig Region I Director Sherlon Christie Region II Director Corey Dade Associate Representative Dawn Roberts Student Representative Wesley Lowery

NABJ Staff
Excutive Director Maurice Foster Program Managers Jannice Hodge Tiane Johnson Nikki Shedrick Irving Washington

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9:00 a.m.- 9:15 a.m. Continental Breakfast

Saturday, November 10

9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Community and Environmental Factors How does your community and environment affect the quality of your health? Research has determined that your ZIP code can actually be a determining factor in your quality of life and your life expectancy. Moderator: L. Khadijah Lang, M.D., President, Charles R. Drew Medical Society; Region VI Vice Chair of the National Medical Association Panelists: Crystal Crawford, The California Wellness Foundation Mary Lee, Associate Director, PolicyLink Derek Steele, Civic Engagement Programs Director Social Justice Learning Institute Melissa Franklin, Best Start Marketing Manager, First 5 LA Beatriz Solis, Ph.D., Dir. of Healthy Communities, The California Endowment 10:45 a.m.- 11:00 a.m. Break 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. How is California Preparing to Implement ObamaCare? - Now What? This session will examine the steps the state has already taken to ensure the roll out and phase in of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and give health reporters advance information of how this reform affects the Greater Los Angeles communities. Moderator: Denise Dador, Health Reporter, ABC7/KABC Panelists: Oliver T. Brooks, M.D., Chief of Pediatrics, Watts Healthcare Corp. Richard Allen Williams, M.D., President and CEO of the Minority Health Network; Region VI Chair of the National Medical Association Anthony Wright, Executive Director, Health Access California, Sacramento Frank Meza, M.D., Kaiser Permanente Southern California Rachel Arguello, Policy Analyst, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
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Saturday, November 10
12:30 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. LUNCHEON 1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Stress/Anxiety/Heart Disease What Role Does Stress Play in Health Outcomes For People of Color? For many African-Americans, excessive, long-term stress if often a major contributing factor in the development and exacerbation of many serious health conditions and illnesses such as depression, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack and diabetes. Our panel will discuss best practices to help reduce stress. Moderator: Wes Hall, On-Air Personality, Hot 92.3 Old School Panelists: Keris Myrick, President, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); President and CEO of Project Return Peer Support Network Gabriel Crenshaw, Ph.D., Behaivorial Specialist, UCLA 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Break 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Health Reporting Story Ideas: Tips and Tools on How to Produce Better Stories This session will explore how to implement the ideas we talked about in the entire workshop. Moderator: Cindy George, Co-Chair, NABJ Media Institute; Health Reporter, Houston Chronicle Panelists: Alfredo Lee, Public Affairs Officer, First 5 LA Beverly White, Anchor/Reporter, KNBC-TV, Los Angeles Claudia Nez, Investigative Reporter, La Opinin, Los Angeles
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Speaker Bios
Rachel Arguello Rachel Arguello is a policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundations Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. At the Commission, Rachel focuses on a variety of issues related to health coverage and access to Medicaid for low income individuals, including recent projects on community health centers and individuals experiencing homelessness. Contact her by email at RachelA@kff.org Oliver T. Brooks, M.D. Dr. Brooks practiced in the underserved communities of North Oakland and Richmond for four years before accepting a pediatric position at the Watts Health Care Corporation where he is presently Associate Medical Director and Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, and Chairman of the Quality Management Committee. He is Medical Director of the Jordan High School-Based Health Clinic. He also is an Assistant Clinical Professor at Western University of Health Sciences. Contact him by email at oliver.brooks@wattshealth.org Crystal D. Crawford Crystal D. Crawford is a program director at The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) managing grant-making related to womens health and diversity in the health professions. Her responsibilities include reviewing letters of interest and grant proposals and making funding recommendations related to those health issues. Contact her by email at ccrawford@tcwf.org Gabriel Crenshaw, Ph.D. Dr. Gabriel Crenshaw is a sought after educator, speaker, songwriter, and on-air radio and television personality who has committed his life to observing and understanding the humanity that unites us all. Contact him by email at drgabe@mac.com Denise Dador Denise Dador is the Eyewitness News Health specialist. Her Healthy Living segment is seen daily on ABC7 Eyewitness News at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.. She provides additional stories about health issues for other Eyewitness News broadcasts as well as anchoring ABC7 Health specials. Contact her by email at Denise.Dador@abc.com

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Speaker Bios
Melissa Franklin Melissa Franklin is Best Start Marketing Manager at First 5 LA. She has 20 years experience in marketing communications, organizational development and community engagement. She also has a strong background working with faith-based organizations in the Los Angeles African-American community. Contact her by email at Mfranklin@first5la.org Cindy George Cindy George is a multimedia journalist for the Houston Chronicle who has translated her health reporting expertise into a new assignment this year as The Houston Advocate. In this role, she writes a Saturday newspaper column and powers a consumer affairs and government watchdog blog called, The Houston Advocate. She serves as Parliamentarian of the National Association of Black Journalists. She is the 2012 and 2013 chair of the NABJ Media Institute on Health in Washington and leads the organizations Healthy NABJ efforts. Contact her by email at cgeorge304@aol.com Wes Hall A native Tennessean, Wes transitioned to Los Angeles to continue his film career. Stemming from a college friendship formed at Tennessee State University, he found himself in a promotions position at Hot 92.3. After a year in promotions, Wes moved into programming, and within his second year he was given his Big Break at an on-air position... Overnights! Contact him by email at weshallradio@gmail.com L. Khadijah Lang, M.D. Dr. Lang is the Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lang Family Practice, which has been serving the healthcare needs of south-central Los Angeles and surrounding Southern California communities in the same location since 1989. This full scope Family Medicine with Obstetrics practice was established by Dr. Lang while still in residency to offer the medically underserved and women of color a choice of female physicians to provide them with high quality medical care from the cradle to the grave, with cultural competency and respect. Contact her by email at khalang@yahoo.com

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Speaker Bios
Alfredo Lee Alfredo Lee is a public affairs officer at First 5 LA working on the Best Start Communities initiative. Lees role is to work with community residents and parents to develop communications strategies to effectively tell the story of 0-5 in their community. He has developed stories for our Best Start website and used social media to tell the communitys stories. Contact him by email at Alee@first5la.org Mary M. Lee Mary M. Lee is a Deputy Director at PolicyLink, a national advocacy organization working to advance equity and social justice. As a member of the organizations health team, Mary helps guide the PolicyLink Center for Health Equity and Place, providing research, technical assistance and training to public and private agencies collaborating to build healthy communities. Contact her by email at mary@policylink.org Frank Meza, M.D. Dr. Frank Meza is the assistant area medical director of the Los Angeles and West Los Angeles medical centers. As a physician representative, he speaks to brokers, employers and members about the value of our care delivery systemhealth plan, hospitals and health care providers working together to bring members high-quality care. Dr. Meza earned his medical degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. Contact him by email at Frank.X.Meza@nsmtp.kp.org Keris Jn Myrick Keris Jn Myrick is the president on the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Board of Directors and the president and CEO at the Project Return Peer Support Network in Los Angeles County, Ms. Myrick was previously a consultant at the California Institute of Mental Health. Ms. Myrick found NAMI during a hospitalization. NAMI made her feel at home. She soon became very involved with the organization at every level, particularly in the NAMI Star Center and NAMI education programs. Contact her by email at keris@prpsn.org

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Speaker Bios
Claudia Nez Nez is an award-winning investigative reporter whose work has appeared in La Opinin, National Geographic, and several national and local Mexican publications. In 2011, she was selected to Stanford Universitys prestigious John S. Knight Fellowship. As part of her fellowship Nez founded RDataVox an online data visualization network for ethnic media journalists and non-profit organizations. Nez has focused her reporting and multimedia projects on issues of immigration, human trafficking, south border topics and narcotrafficking. Contact her by email at cmnunez@stanford.edu Beatriz Maria Sols, M.P.H., Ph.D. Beatriz Maria Sols, M.P.H., Ph.D., joined The California Endowment in 2007 as the foundations Los Angeles Regional Senior Program Officer. In 2009, Dr. Sols was tapped to be Director of Healthy Communities, South Region, for the foundations 10-year strategic program Building Healthy Communities. Contact her by email at bsolis@calendow.org Derek Steele As the Civic Engagement Program Director of the Social Justice Learning Institute, Mr. Steele is responsible for the communitys awareness of and participation in SJLIs social justice programs. He trains youth and community members through SJLIs healthy eating, gardening and tree care workshops while providing policy and advocacy leadership articulating community priorities. Contact him by email at dsteele@sjli-cp.org Beverly White Beverly White is a veteran general assignment reporter for the Channel 4 News. White joined NBC4 in 1992 from WTVJ, the NBC owned and operated station in Miami. White specializes in live television and has covered a variety of stories for NBC4 including the destructive El Nino weather system, the recurrent Southern California wildfires, local flooding, mudslides and the Northridge earthquake. In addition, she has traveled for NBC4 on select stories such as the 2004 hurricane swarm in Florida and Alabama. Locally, she has been a steady presence on the top-rated 11p.m. Channel 4 News for more than a decade. Contact her by email at Beverly.white@nbcuni.com

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Speaker Bios
Richard Allen Williams, M.D. Dr. Richard Allen Williams was the first African American student at Harvard from Delaware. He received the M.D. degree from the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, performed his internship at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, his Internal Medicine residency at the Los Angeles CountyUSC Medical Center and a Cardiology fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. He is an internationally-recognized authority on hypertension, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. Contact him by email at mhinst@aol.com Anthony Wright Anthony Wright has served as Executive Director for Health Access, the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition, since 2002. Health Access has been a leader in state and national efforts to fight health care budget cuts, to win consumer protections and to advance comprehensive health reform and coverage expansions. Wright led fights to pass a first-in-the-nation law against hospital overcharging of the uninsured and to win a prescription drug discount program despite an $80 million industry campaign against it. Contact him by email at awright@health-access.org

THANK YOU
NABJ would like to express our sincerest gratitude to all of our moderators, speakers and panelists. Your continued support makes our programs possible. Look for details soon on our Media Institute on Health: Health Policy and Health Inequities in Washington, DC, April 4-6, 2013. For information on how to support NABJ programs, events and scholarships, please visit us at www.nabj.org.

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