announcement - october 2009

2009 Kaiser Permanente Health Policy Journalism Fellows Announced

U.C. Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism students Melanie Mason and Samson Reiny have been awarded Kaiser Permanente Health Policy Journalism Fellowships for the 2009-2010 academic year.  The objective of this year’s fellowship is to promote effective reporting of the complex relationships linking federal agricultural policy, the food industry, and the health of Americans.  The fellows, both second year students, will produce a master’s project with this theme as a priority for investigation.

Bestselling author and UC Berkeley journalism professor Michael Pollan is the faculty advisor for the Kaiser Permanente Health Policy Journalism Fellowship.

Melanie Mason’s investigation will explore government food assistance programs and their impact on the health and nutrition of participants.  “The public discussion about food assistance programs often focuses squarely on how many people participate, or how much money the programs receive,” She stated.  “I'm grateful to Kaiser Permanente for providing the support and resources to go beyond the numbers and tell the stories of actual people, to see how their health is affected by these programs, and to spotlight innovative programs that seek to put nutrition back into food assistance programs.”

Samson Reiny will investigate whether or not the current U.S. regulations regarding the sale of genetically modified foods are adequate to ensure the public's safety.  “The debate surrounding the safety of genetically modified food has long been contentious, and both proponents and dissenters of this relatively new technology have often pushed their arguments to one extreme or the other–tinkering with DNA is either completely safe or fundamentally disastrous,” Reney stated.  “I am very much looking forward to utilizing the Kaiser Permanente fellowship to delve into the science and politics of GMO's with the hope of giving the public a thorough and even-handed analysis of the debate, and, perhaps, some suggestions for moving forward.”

The news media are a key factor in reaching policy makers and educating the public, noted Kaiser Permanente Senior Policy Consultant Brian Raymond.  “At Kaiser Permanente, we believe informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of health policy issues,” said Raymond. “They can influence their peers and stimulate discussion among the general public.”

About the Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy
The Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy was established in 1999. Our purpose is to provide a focus and resources for Kaiser Permanente to better participate in shaping the nation’s health policy agenda. We bring experts together to research and analyze health policy, with a goal of increasing understanding of policy issues and helping provide solutions. Working in collaboration with foundations, policy institutes, research programs, policymakers, and other organizations, the Institute seeks to develop unbiased information about health policy issues and alternatives.