Rachel Zamzow

Laura Beil Dissects a Criminal Doctor’s Surgical Rampage

In the overwhelmingly popular podcast Dr. Death, Laura Beil chronicles the astonishing string of surgeries botched by Dallas-area neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. Throughout the series, Beil grapples with what allowed such an inept surgeon to kill two patients and harm 31 others before he was finally stopped. And, she reveals that this could easily happen again. Beil tells Zamzow how Dr. Death fell into her lap, how she adapted to audio storytelling, and how she has handled the podcast’s success.

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by Rachel Zamzow · January 22, 2019 · 1 comment

Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments

Many freelancers question whether they can ask for more than what’s offered for assignments—and, if so, how and when they should ask. Seeking answers to these quandaries, we surveyed and interviewed freelancers and editors about this practice. Our results show that, on the whole, it rarely hurts to ask. In fact, doing so tends to pay off. The key is asking in the right way.

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by Rachel Zamzow · April 10, 2018 · 4 comments

Navigating Conflicts of Interest

With pay rates stagnant at best, many freelance science journalists combine journalism with work for institutional clients. But it may be unclear what, if any, conflicts of interest these other assignments create. Despite a dearth of guidance on these issues, many freelancers manage to mix journalism with other work by following carefully placed boundaries and making transparency a priority.

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by Rachel Zamzow · February 27, 2018 · 3 comments

Marshall Allen Unearths Waste in Health Care

Experts say the U.S. health care system wastes an estimated $765 billion each year. In a year-long ProPublica investigation, reporter Marshall Allen searched for the sources of these squandered dollars. His resulting series chronicles several cases of needless spending, including a shocking story about a nearly $2,000 ear piercing. Here, Allen tells Rachel Zamzow about what inspired him to tackle this gargantuan topic and how he found real people to make his story come alive.

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by Rachel Zamzow · February 13, 2018 · 1 comment

Going Digital: Inside New Science Journalism Outlets

While many traditional print publications struggle to stay afloat, new all-digital science magazines are launching, and some online outlets are expanding their health and science desks. Rachel Zamzow chats with the editors and publishers of five new digital science publications or desks about their outlets’ inner workings, growing pains, and some helpful tips they’ve learned along the way.

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by Rachel Zamzow · January 16, 2018 · 2 comments

Spotting Shady Statistics

Excessive data mining, cherry-picking of subjects and endpoints, peeking at data before a study has ended, and other questionable practices that scientists may deploy in pursuit of significant and eye-catching results, are often hard to detect. We show how science journalists can learn to catch many such tricks.

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by Rachel Zamzow · December 5, 2017 · 9 comments

Writing Well about Disability

Though disabled people make up the nation’s largest minority group, their voices are often left out of stories about disabilities. In addition, many media stories frame disability in a negative light and perpetuate damaging stigmas. Other coverage reflects a misguided attempt to inspire, but often ends up devaluing people with disabilities in the process. For journalists who want to do better, there are a few major areas to consider improving.

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by Rachel Zamzow · October 24, 2017 · 3 comments