AHCJ President Ferris Frayer (left) and panelist Jenny Dunkley during HJ24 session “A Final Gift: What Happens When You Donate Your Body to a Medical School?” Photo by Zachary Linhares
Lynn Arditi
I sat down with AHCJ President Felice Freyer at HJ24 in New York City earlier this month, and we discussed her path to becoming a medical reporter, the most important lessons she’s learned throughout her career, and the evolution of AHCJ as an organization and medical news resource.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve been writing about healthcare for most of your career – when did you realize you wanted to take up this subject?
It all goes back to AHCJ co-founder Eileen Wiewlowski. She was a medical reporter at the Providence Journal, where I previously worked, and I admired her reporting. I realized she was doing the kind of thing I most wanted to do: human interest stories that also incorporated science and policy and had real impact. When Eileen moved to the Los Angeles Times, I applied for her position.
What was the first healthcare article you wrote?
One story that really stood out to me early on in my career was a magazine article I did about a young woman who suffered from severe depression. At the time, people weren’t always talking about mental health like they are now. She was incredibly brave and willing to come forward and talk about her experience.
She went to college and suddenly [so depressed that she curled up] She was in the fetal position. It took a long time for her to be diagnosed and receive proper treatment. Her parents told me they were shocked and confused by their young, beautiful daughter’s sudden breakdown.
A guy I knew from work messaged me after I retired and left the Journal for The Boston Globe and said, “I’ve been wanting to thank you for that article because it changed my life. Your article helped me realize I had depression. I got treatment and it changed my life.” It’s the most amazing thing I could imagine, being able to change someone’s life in that way.
How did you become involved with AHCJ?
One of the founders, Duncan Moore, called me and said, “We’re starting a new association. Do you want to join?” I said, “Yeah, that’s a great idea.” So I became a founding member. I joined the Right to Know committee and did a lot of work with that group, pushing for access to information and writing letters to officials. If you can get on a committee and be a voice, that’s a great way to get involved with the AHCJ. And in 2009, I ran for and was elected to the board.
How has AHCJ changed since you first joined?
As journalism changes, so does our membership. At least a third of our membership is now freelancers. Probably more. It seems like every time I turn around, there’s another freelancer there, including me. Lots of people have lost their jobs or quit their jobs to become freelancers. We provide a great service to freelancers, and that service has been building up a lot.
Our training for all our members has become more sophisticated. We have more fellowships, including a new international fellowship. We have more collaborations with other organizations, such as partnering with SEJ and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing to create SHERF, or the National Science, Health and Environment Reporting Fellowship. We have also joined other organizations that advocate for press freedom and increased our visibility.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a phrase: ‘everyone is a healthcare reporter.’ Do you think the pandemic has had a lasting impact on interest in healthcare?
Well, it depends on who you’re talking about. I think I’m more interested in [among] The general public. If I had to guess, I’d say there are more people than ever before who, because they’ve read a little, and are dangerously informed, think they’re medical experts.
It’s also become a lot more political. Before, you could just talk to public health officials and get a fact-based answer. Now they have to think about the political ramifications of what they say. So that’s obviously impacting our ability to report.
Have you ever heard that reporters, especially new reporters, have a hard time getting basic information?
In fact, this is a problem in journalism as a whole. People are being silenced. It’s gotten so bad that the Poynter Institute created a guide called “Shut Out” on how to deal with sources who refuse to talk to reporters. So I think this is everywhere. It’s very harmful.
How should we think about the problem of misinformation in medical reporting?
This is very difficult because the people who most need to know the facts are not reading our publications. They listen to Fox News or Newsmax. I don’t know what the solution is. But I think reporters have to be very careful about false equivalences and find ways to get the truth out there.
We have to acknowledge those who don’t accept the truth, but we don’t want to give them an equal platform. So it’s very difficult to get it right. But we have to be very careful not to say anything that is derogatory to those who see things differently, because we have to be able to appeal to them.
When you talk to young journalists who might be interested in health, what do you want them to know?
I want my students to know that you can never know everything. So no matter how many years you cover it, you’re going to feel like you know less and less with each passing year. The more you learn, the more you realize how much you don’t know. So you have to stay humble. And you have to check everything and talk to as many people as you can until an editor kicks you out. I teach my students that there are not two sides to medical journalism, there are seven, 10 sides. It’s very complicated, there’s a lot of nuance.
What do you know now about the film that you wish you had known 20 years ago?
I wish I’d been more aware when I was younger and first starting out in this job of the emotional side of reporting and how you get emotionally invested in the stories you cover. Instead of fighting it, you can just be with the people you’re interviewing and not worry about crossing the line as long as you’re just a human being. It took me a while to learn that. You’re dealing with illness and life and death, so you’re going to get emotional, and you have to let yourself go with those emotions.
Are you more open with your interviewees now?
Well, for example, if you’re talking to someone about Alzheimer’s, you might say, “My mom had Alzheimer’s, so I know exactly what you’re talking about,” and that helps you make a connection.
Lynn Arditi is a health reporter for The Public’s Radio, Rhode Island’s NPR affiliate. She was a 2024 AHCJ-Rhode Island Journalism Fellow.
