For Immediate Release
March 22, 2011
Contact Information

National Association of Black Journalists
Aprill Turner
(646) 244-4917
aprilloturner@gmail.com

(BPRW) Black Journalists Host Third Annual Media Institute on Health, Health Policy and Health Disparities

- Panelists Include CBS's Russ Mitchell, ABC's Vicki Mabrey, Black AIDS Institute's Phill Wilson, American Cancer Society's Dr. Otis Brawling, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Special Projects, Jocelyn Frye -

(BLACK PR WIRE)--WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will host its third annual Media Institute on Health, Health Policy and Health Disparities. The Conference will be held March 24- 26, 2011, at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C.

NABJ’s Media Institute on Health, Health Policy and Health Disparities is the only conference of its kind to focus exclusively on health disparities in communities of color and providing print, broadcast and digital journalists the tools to effectively report on the impact of health care reform and health policy on underserved communities. Journalists and media professionals will leave with resources to inform and empower readers and viewers to action in their lives.

Topics addressed at the Media Institute will include understanding and covering the social determinants of health, creative community solutions to health care access and prevention, updates to the Affordable Care Act, HIV/AIDS in the black community, mental health, childhood obesity, and understanding studies and data.

This annual Media Institute garners headlines and the attention of newsmakers in the fight to bring awareness to health care disparities. This year’s special guests include: Russ Mitchell, CBS News Correspondent; Vicki Mabrey, ABC News Correspondent; Phill Wilson, Founder and Executive Director of the Black HIV/AIDS Institute, and Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of the American Cancer Society, Jocelyn Frye, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Special Projects, and others. For additional details on the conference and the schedule, please visit: www.nabjorg

"There has never been a more key time to cover the health scene, after the massive legislative changes that took place last year with our health system,” said NABJ President Kathy Y. Times. "Expert panelists from across the country will join us and weigh in on the long-term change that the overhaul of the health system will have for people of color in the United States. Given the steadily high unemployment rates, epidemic levels of chronic disease, and disproportionately high rates of premature death in communities of color, journalists must take a deeper look at the future of the health policies that impact our health and well-being.”

The convening is hosted by the NABJ Media Institute, which offers professional development opportunities, technical training, historical documentation, educational programs, workshops, entrepreneurial guidance as well as Web seminars, which consist of quality content and provide resources for students and journalists of colors.

For program information regarding this Media Institute, contact NABJ Program Manager, Irving Washington at iwashington@nabj.org.

An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization of journalists of color in the nation, and provides educational, career development and support to black journalists worldwide.