Using literary journalism to extend the public health model of reporting

Abstract

The public health model of reporting calls for news stories to incorporate information on context, risk factors, and prevention strategies that will help readers learn more about social problems and endorse prevention strategies. Researchers have indicated that changing the way newspaper stories report violence and other social problems can change readers' perceptions and reduce social problems. It also has been noted that additional study is needed to determine the effectiveness of reporting based on the public health model.Public journalism has encouraged the use of more in-depth, contextual frameworks for media reports to influence perceptions, attitudes, and ultimately societal conditions, however public journalism is considered by some to be challenging to define and apply.The need for additional study provides an opportunity to further examine and add to the public health model of reporting. A narrative nonfiction account has been written, employing the techniques of literary journalism, to tell the story of Mary Dollison's life struggle to overcome poverty through education and the development of the Motivate Our Minds (MOM) tutoring and enrichment program in Muncie, Indiana. It was written at a deeper level that reflects larger truths about the societal issues of poverty and education, using Muncie's Whiteley neighborhood as a microcosm of low-income urban communities across the United States.Combining the techniques of literary journalism and the public health model of reporting to tell compelling stories of Mary Dollison and those involved in the MOM program serves to extend the public health model to include literary journalism.