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We’re pleased to announce the launch of a brand-new online course on health journalism, developed by EJN’s sister network, the Health Journalism Network (HJN). Like all our e-learning offerings, this too is free and self-paced; unlike the others, though, it’s delivered via Whatsapp!
The WhatsApp Health Journalism 101 course is designed for journalists who want to improve the quality of their reporting on health, and are located in low-resource settings where internet connection is limited, and training opportunities are few and far in between. It was produced with support from Internews’ Rooted in Trust Project, USAID and EJN.
“The WhatsApp Health Journalism 101 course offers media professionals the basics of health reporting and storytelling, combined with a greater understanding of health priorities at the individual, community, and global levels. WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging platform globally and a great resource for communities that have limited access to the internet,” said Megan Miller, Internews Health Director. “We hope this material will inspire more health stories and enhance the quality of health journalism worldwide."
“In co-designing the One Health component of this course with HJN, our aim was to support journalists across all beats to better understand the interconnectedness of human and animal health, the environment and the climate,” said Amrita Gupta, EJN’s Senior Editor and Content Officer. “We hope this course will encourage journalists to highlight these linkages more effectively and report on the urgent need for unified approaches to address the health, environmental and climate crises.”
The course is designed to unfold over 21 days in short, SMS-sized chunks, walking journalists through the basics of epidemiology, non-communicable and communicable diseases, misinformation in health, the One Health approach, ethics in journalism and much more. Learning is enhanced through tailor-made graphics, daily pop quizzes and detailed resources on the various public health topics covered.
The WhatsApp course just been launched as a pilot in English, and will initially be open for 100 journalists to enroll through invitation and open call.
Please complete this sign-up form by September 18 to register your interest in taking the course.
To receive updates from HJN, its network of global health experts and health journalists, subscribe to their newsletter here.
Banner image: A journalist in PPE interviews communities affected by climate impacts in the Philippines / Credit: Gaea Cabico.
