The USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism announced “the selection of 20 talented journalists to participate in its 2023 National Fellowship to report on issues affecting child, youth and family health and well-being in the United States.” Belen Dumont, Editor for the Latino News Network (LNN) – Northeast and Writer for Connecticut Latino News (CTLN) is among them.
The competitive program includes a five-day training that provides insights into how health is shaped by community conditions, systemic racism and opportunity. Through reporting stipends and months of expert mentoring, the Center for Health Journalism supports Fellows as they produce investigative and explanatory projects on challenges affecting child, youth and family well-being.
“I’m proud to welcome this group of reporters to Los Angeles this week. “We look forward to partnering with them (journalists) as they produce stories on health equity and systemic disparities in their communities that aim to make a difference,” said Michelle Levander, founding director of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism and editor-in-chief of its online community.
“I’m incredibly excited and grateful to have been selected to participate in the 2023 Center for Health Journalism National Fellowship,” said Dumont. She will spend the next several months investigating and producing solutions-focused stories on rising rising obesity rates among children and youth of color across Hartford County, CT. “I am honored to be able to cover my hometown community and highlight culturally-informed efforts that aim to combat racially disproportionate childhood obesity rates in Connecticut and support underserved child populations.”
“Grants like the Center for Health Journalism, provides dedicated journalists like Belen, and independent newsrooms like CTLN, the resources necessary to produce authentic stories that resonate with communities often invisible in the coverage of mainstream media,” said Hugo Balta, Owner and Publisher of LNN. LNN oversees six independent digital news outlets in the Northeast and Midwest, including CTLN.
The 2023 National Fellowship is generously funded by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The National Fellowship also receives support from The California Endowment and the Kristy Hammam Fund for Health Journalism, an initiative of the Social Impact Fund.