Alana Semuels, a senior economics correspondent at Time, spoke with Meredith Klein of Meredith and the Media about her job.
Here is an excerpt:
- As a senior correspondent at TIME, you write about the consumer side of healthcare and the intersection of economics and health. Can you give us some examples of the stories you’re writing and what’s driving your coverage?
- I have expanded my coverage to American families, as well, including the problems facing American families like childbirth, child care, and elder care.
- A lot of my coverage is driven by news. There is a lot happening in HHS (the Department of Health and Human Services) and with RFK Jr. and how he’s trying to change health care. News can stir up some really interesting longer-term stories, though. The July Manhattan shooting by the man who thought he had CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) made me think a lot about health and sports and what youth leagues are doing to protect kids, for instance.
- Some of my coverage is guided by personal experiences. For example, I had my blood drawn at a private lab and was like, “Why is this so terrible?” So, I also try to write about stuff people can relate to. I also wrote a story about why child care (facilities) were closing after personally hearing about a few closing.
- Sometimes a PR person will alert me to news, and it’s very helpful. It can be hard to keep track of everything. A PR person sent me a pitch on Medicare ending telehealth; I had no idea, so that was a helpful pitch to get.
- And of course, some coverage is guided by data—surveys and studies. For example, I did a story based on data that women were dropping out of the workforce, and I wanted to explore why.
- In general, I like doing the stories that no one else is writing about, but with the frantic pace of news, a lot of my coverage is news-driven.
Read more here.
