Interview with a health journalist...

I spoke to freelance health journalist and author Natalie Blenford about health journalism in women's national magazines.

What publications have you written health stories for?
Zest, Top Sante, Cosmopolitan, CosmoGIRL!, Bliss, Scarlet

Why are health/fitness stories important to journalism?
The NHS/COI publishes flyers and posters about hot health issues of the day, such as giving up smoking and the importance of eating a low-fat diet (which is currently being advertised all over bus shelters) and GPs should be the first port of call for anyone in need of personalised, professional advice. But journalists can help educate the public about thousands of different health issues, in a range of accessible, non-preachy ways, simply by writing about them in a style and format that is original and interesting.

A first person feature about a woman who survived breast cancer, for example, might encourage readers to self-examine their own breasts regularly and lead to them making healthy lifestyle choices. The impact comes from the detailed, honest and accurate nature of the stories being told – they have much more punch than a flyer you can pick up at your local doctor’s surgery.

Can you give an example of a health feature you have written which has had an impact on you?
I wrote a feature for Cosmopolitan in 2006 headlined “How Normal Are Your Breasts?”. The feature showed the bare breasts of 15 Cosmo readers, all of whom had different sized/shaped breasts from AA cup to E. Working on this feature made me realise there really is no such thing as a normal pair of breasts – everyone is unique, and hence everyone in normal. The feature caused a massive reaction in Cosmo’s readership – the magazine received lots of letters of thanks from readers who now feel happy with themselves, and this was a very gratifying and useful thing to happen.

I was also very moved by the story I wrote for April Cosmopolitan 2009, of Whitney Cerak, a 21-year old student who survived a car-crash and 5 weeks in a coma before waking up to discover she had been the victim of a case of mistaken identity, and her parents thought she had died in the accident. This is billed as a “real-life” story rather than a health feature, but the medical detail heavily influenced the story and her recovery has been miraculous from a health perspective.

How hard is it to work as a freelance in the area of covering health/fitness/beauty?
Not too hard (although as a side point, actually it’s harder now than ever due to budgets being tightened). It takes a while to get established as a trustworthy, accurate writer and it takes time to work out the best methods for finding health stories, case studies and feature ideas that editors want. But actually there are people out there who can help you. All beauty brands, all charitable foundations and all consumer companies such as gym chains have press officers or PR companies who can help you source cast studies or products, and once these people know who you are, they will help you get your job done.

The hardest thing about freelancing (in general) is establishing a daily routine that works for both yourself and your editors; managing your cash-flow, and finding ways to say “yes” to more changes when it’s appropriate, and “no, sorry”, when you are convinced the job is 100% finished but an editor thinks otherwise. You also have to be very self-motivated, organized and an excellent communicator who can talk to all types of people, from pushy PRs to people who’ve survived seriously harrowing experiences. Often you don’t meet case studies face to face, so you need to be good on the phone and able to strike up a rapport with an interviewee, in seconds.

Have you got any tips for aspiring health journalists who want to work in magazines?
Firstly, know your market: there’s a difference between health journalism in Cosmo, let’s say, and Zest. One is a general interest women’s mag; the other is a specialist magazine for people who take an active, daily interest in health and fitness. Consequently, the same ideas won’t necessarily work for both magazines.

It’s vital to know who you are applying to before you write off asking for work experience or freelance work. There’s nothing worse than general letters, and avoid writing clichéd sentences like “I’m passionate about health journalism because I think it can change lives” – it might be true, but it will probably sound simple in a letter or email. Instead, communicate exactly what you can offer the publication in question. Do you know lots of 20-something girls who are keen to be case studies in their magazine? Have you got a good contact in a PR company, who can hook you up with some new facts/stats that would be the basis of a health news story? Are you a first-time marathon runner willing to keep a journal of your progress as you train for this year’s London marathon? Everyone has something unique to offer, and magazines thrive on ideas and creativity, so channel lots of this into any letters you send off.

Also, start interviewing people and writing these interviews up – publish them on a blog, and paste the link to the bottom of your email signature. Show editors that you are doing everything you can to get started, and hopefully they will reward you with a commission in the end. And keep working at it – these things don’t happen overnight and tenacity is required if you want to get into magazine journalism in the middle of what’s looking like a rather nasty recession.

Natalie is the author of "Dance Your Way to Fitness" published in 2007 by Collins & Brown in association with Zest Magazine.

The 'last taboo'

Writing about mental health can cause lots of problems for journalists. There are so many stereotypes to bypass; myths, misconceptions, misinformation. The language you use to report them is crucial, and the points you make need to be clear enough to communicate with the vast majority of people who believe that those with mental health problems are dangerous or unpredictable.

Yet, it’s such an important area to report on. So much of the stigma surrounding psychological problems could arguable be traced back to lack of information, or perpetuated negative stereotypes, both of which the media can have a huge influence over.

As a journalism student and freelance journalist, mental health has always been a primary area of interest for me. A key principle for journalists is to look for the human interest in a story – and stories relating to mental health have that in abundance. The prevalence of these problems in modern society means we all know someone who has struggled with depression, anxiety, or even more serious conditions such as schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder. The more unlucky amongst us have experienced them first hand. But an experience I’ve had all too frequently is pitching stories related to these issues to tutors or editors, and having them rejected, because ‘mental health just isn’t sexy’, ‘it’s too morose’, ‘too depressing’ or whatever reason they care to throw at me.

Whatever you think, the stats speak for themselves. 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health problem during their lifetime. That means one out of every four people who pick up your publication could be dealing with these problems – and journalists have a responsibility to address them.

National papers are full of examples of stories related to mental health, both good and bad. The overwhelming majority of those we see in the popular press leave something to be desired in terms of good reporting. ‘Amy Madhouse!’ and ‘Bonkers Britney!’ are the sort of headlines we are used to seeing in the tabloids. The terms ‘schizo’, ‘nutter’ and ‘basket case’ are bandied about, without any real consideration for the people they describe, or what it is like to be on the receiving end of these terms. If anyone desperately needs to be treated with sensitivity and empathy, it’s a person who is struggling with a mental health condition. The treatment they receive from other people could make a huge difference to their recovery and to how they cope with their condition.

The papers seem to fixate particularly on suicide. It’s easy enough to understand why this is newsworthy: it’s usually a violent act, horrific and shocking. As they say: bad news sells. But journalists need to be very careful with this. However contrived it seems, copycat suicides can and do happen. One study found that following reports of a suicide in which anti-freeze was mixed with lemonade and drunk in a field, the following month there were nine cases of deliberate anti-freeze self-poisoning (compared to an average of two per month). And back in March of this year, we saw a spate of young people commit suicides in the town of Bridgend- 17 in total between January and March. The local MP Madeleine Moon has been outspoken about the fact that she believes media coverage is, at least, partially to blame. The situation is so grave that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has added a new clause which stipulates that journalists must take care to avoid providing excessive detail about the method used in a suicide.

So the point to be made is this: journalists need to pay more attention to mental health stories, and they should never avoid reporting them, however unpalatable or uncomfortable they may be to hear. But how they report them is key. They need to use sensitive and appropriate language, to choose where to provide detail and when not to, and to source real life case studies instead of relying on ‘experts’ for all quotes. Mental health problems cost the UK economy over £77bn a year. Surely there must be something we as journalists can do to break down the stigma and offer support and advice to the people that really need it, and still write great stories at the same time?