Health Journalism Training in Europe

  1. Which of the below best describes you?

Freelance reporter

Freelance editor

Reporter on staff of a news or mediaorganization

Editor/producer on staff of a news or media organization

Other: ______

  1. Which best describes your journalistic production?

Health reporter/editor/producer

Journalist who occasionally reports on health issues

Journalist who has never reported on health issues, but would be interested in the field

Journalist who has never reported on health issues, with no interest in the field (if you have checked this option, please proceed to the end of the questionnaire, to question 18)

  1. What is your primary focus: [check all that apply]

Global health

Medical research and science

The business/economicsof health care

Health policy

Health care quality and performance

Consumer/lifestyle health

Health Disparities (among economic, cultural,ethnic groups)

The politics of health care

Other: ______

  1. How long have you been a health reporter/editor/producer?

Less than 1 year

1-5 years

6-10 years

11+ years

  1. How often do you currently work on health stories?

Very often

Fairly often

Once in a while

Never

  1. All things considered, how would you rate the news media in Britainfor its coverage of:

ExcellentGoodFairPoor

a. General Politics

b. The economy 

c. Health 

d. Education 

e. The environment

f. The media itself 

  1. In general, how would you describe the amount of coverage the Britishnews media in generalgives to the following types of health stories:

Too About theNot

much right amount enough

a. Global health 

b. Medical research and science

c. The business/economics of health care

d. Health policy 

e. Health care quality and performance

f. Consumer/lifestyle health 

g. Health Disparities (among economic,  cultural,ethnic groups)

h. The politics of health care 

  1. In general, how would you rate the quality of the Britishnews media’s coverage of the followingtypes of health stories:

Excellent GoodFairPoor

a. Global health 

b. Medical research and science

c. The business/economics of health care 

d. Health policy 

e. Health care quality and performance 

f. Consumer/lifestyle health 

g. Health Disparities (among economic, 

cultural,ethnic groups)

h. The politics of health care 

  1. How often would you say you get story ideas from the followingsources:

Very FairlyOnce in

often often a while Never

a. Radio and TV talk shows

b. Friends/acquaintances outside

journalism

c. Personal contacts among health

and health experts

d. Medical journals or trade press

publications

e. Public agencies 

f. National news media (such as BBC,

daily newspapers and websites)

g. Unsolicited news tips and suggestions

from the public

h. Public relations or marketing outreach

i. Editors 

j. Online sources like blogs, social

networking sites, and user-generated

content

k. Colleagues at other news organizations 

l. Databases 

m. Think tanks or foundations 

  1. How often does your news / media organization report stories based on news releases or newsconferences without substantial additional reporting, including contacting independent sources?

Frequently

Sometimes

Rarely

Never

  1. Have you ever had any specialized training on reporting health topics?

No

Yes

If yes, please specify:

______

  1. How would you consider specialized training on reporting health topics?

Necessary

Good to have but not necessary

Unnecessary

  1. What, if any, health or health topics do you want more training in? (Please check up to 4areas that are most important to you.)

Global health

Medical research and science

The business/economics of health care

Health policy

Health care quality and performance

Consumer/lifestyle health

Health Disparities (among economic, cultural,ethnic groups)

The politics of health care

The workings of publicly financed health care programs

Other: ______

______

  1. What, if any, skills training do you want more of? (Please check up to 4areas that are mostimportant to you.)

How to search for medical information online

How to do multimedia reporting (Web sites, video, podcasts)

How to map health conditions, services and the like in my community

How to understand statistics

How to interpret medical research reports

How to work with Excel or other analytical software

How to understand hospital and other financial reports

How to evaluate conflicts of interest

How to understand public opinion polls and surveys

Other: ______

______

  1. When you are looking at training opportunities, how interested are you in each of the following formats?

Very Somewhat Not too Not at all

Interested interested interestedinterested

a. Printed books and resource guides 

b. National conferences

c. Workshops 

d. Audio podcasts 

e. Web courses

f. Online reports, factsheets, tipsheets

and transcripts  

g. Video Webcasts

h. Other ______

______

  1. How much of your time would you be willing to dedicate to a training opportunity (during a training session)?

1 day

2 days

3 days

4 days

Other: ______

______

  1. Please list the most important obstacles/problems you encounter when reporting on a health topic:

______

______

Finally, we would like to ask you a few general questions:

  1. Which comes closest to describing your news or media organization?

Newspaper (or newspaper Web site)

Large newspaper (over 250,000 circulation)

Medium newspaper (90,000 to 250,000 circulation)

Smaller newspaper (under 90,000 circulation)

General interest magazine (or its Web site)

Medical journal (or its Web site)

Wire service (or its Web site)

Trade publication or newsletter (or its Web site)

Online-only journal or other online-only news outlet

Public TV (or TV Web site)

Public Radio (or radio Web site)

Private / Commercial TV (or TV Web site)

Private / Commercial Radio (or radio Web site)

Other: ______

______

  1. And would you describe yourself mainly as a:

Print journalist

Broadcast journalist

Web journalist

Print and broadcast

Print and Web

Broadcast and Web

All three

Other: ______

______

  1. How long have you been a journalist?

Less than 1 year

1-5 years

6-10 years

11+ years

  1. Are you:

Male

Female

  1. What is your age?

______

  1. What is your nationality?

______

  1. What is your academic background?

12 years or less

Higher Education

Degree(s): ______

Subject(s): ______

Thank you very much for your time.

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