The O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

Two Major Newspapers Publish O'Brien Work

6/16/2014

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Marquette students have teamed with an O'Brien fellow from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and journalists at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to produce national and local reporting that begins this week with a two-part series focusing on how poverty and health intersect. Both news outlets published the work in their print and online editions.
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Months-long in the making, Post-Gazette reporter Lillian Thomas’ “Poor Health: Poverty and Scarce Resources in U.S. Cities” kicks off an occasional series of reports about the barriers to health and health care for low-income urban Americans. Thomas, assistant managing editor of special projects at the Post-Gazette, worked with the Journal Sentinel and Marquette students during the 2013-2014 academic year at the university as part of the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.

The Post-Gazette and Journal Sentinel analyzed data from the top 52 U.S. metropolitan areas for their reporting. Thomas writes that people in poor neighborhoods are less healthy than their more affluent neighbors but more likely to live in areas with physician shortages and closed hospitals.

​Another story explains what drives health care systems to build new hospitals in wealthy areas where health is better than in poor areas and health care resources are already in place. A story of a hospital’s development, growth and closure is told in photos and an interactive timeline traces the economics of U.S. health care.

“Poor Health” also reveals that Milwaukee serves as a case study for the rest of the nation. The series profiles John Patton, a Milwaukee man who has long struggled with unemployment and health problems, and videos tell the story of a small nonprofit in Milwaukee located in a former hospital.

​Future installments will examine the effect of hospital closures and new models for improving health care.

Learn more about the work by O'Brien Fellow Lillian Thomas and Marquette students. 
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    Click here to visit the full O'Brien Fellowship website, including how to apply for one of the coveted 2016-17 spots. The deadline is Feb. 1, 2017.

    About the Perry & Alicia O'Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

    Backed by the resources of Marquette University and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, O’Brien Fellows will spend nine months researching, reporting and writing the stories they care most deeply about — stories with the potential to change policies and improve lives. This fully funded fellowship allows newsroom professionals to do the best work of their careers on issues of vital importance while they also mentor the next generation of journalists.

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