The Wall Street Journal seeks an enterprising and ambitious reporter to cover the intersection of the U.S. health care system and its patients, focusing on hospitals, pharmacies and pharmacy-benefit managers.
This is a critical time to be reporting on these powerful companies and nonprofits, which account for the lion’s share of America’s $4.8 trillion in health care spending and impact the lives and finances of millions of patients and their families. Through consolidation, these industries wield ever-growing control over pricing and access to care. They are attracting growing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers that crosses political divides. And they control vast oceans of highly personal data that, combined with artificial intelligence, are changing the way decisions about individuals’ care are made.
We are looking for a reporter who will not only write about the businesses and their interconnectedness with other sectors including drug makers and insurance, but also examine them through the lens of the patients and families that rely on them for good health and deal with their costs and complexity. The reporter should be able to penetrate large organizations, identify the biggest themes and deeply report and then elegantly write authoritative enterprise, in addition to producing scoops and jumping on spot news.
You will:
- Cultivate sources and break news, delivering scoops and analysis that separate your work from the pack.
- Connect dots, conceive ideas and deliver stories that drive the conversation about the U.S. healthcare system among our readers, within the industry and with policymakers
- Write distinctive, revelatory stories about both the hard-nosed business practices of these industries, and the deeply human stories at their heart.
- Collaborate with teammates covering other aspects of healthcare including drug pricing and health insurance, as well as with colleagues reporting on topics including Washington, national affairs and technology.
You have:
- A track record of dominating a beat and producing enterprise and scoops ahead of the competition.
- Clips that shows your knowledge of the U.S. healthcare system, ability to cultivate its players and aptitude for identifying its most compelling themes
- A demonstrated ability to report out high-impact stories and write them up stylishly
- Preferably 5-10 years experience covering healthcare
The position ideally will be based in New York City, though other locations will be considered under the right circumstances, and will report to Health Business editor Jonathan Rockoff, in the Health & Science coverage area.
To apply, please submit a resume, cover letter and 5 to 7 examples of your work.
The Journal’s reporters, editors, developers, and audio and visual journalists create important and impactful stories, firmly rooted in fact and adhering to the highest ethical standards. We report without fear or bias, and we maintain a proper sense of perspective, detachment and objectivity in our reporting.
To apply, go here.
