Health Journalism in Focus: International Workshop Held in Tbilisi

The two-day workshop welcomed 15 journalists from Georgia, Belarus, Armenia, and Ukraine, all committed to deepening their understanding of health reporting in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and amid ongoing challenges to public health systems across the region.

Expert-Led Sessions

An infectious disease specialist and head of the private diagnostic clinic Neolab, Dr. Maia Butsashvili shared insights on Georgia’s pandemic response. She also emphasized the total lack of published assessments on Georgia’s Covid-19 clinical management, including the absence of public documentation on successes, failures, or financial accountability over the two-year pandemic period.

Award-winning science and global health reporter at The New York Times, Apoorva Mandavilli led a two-hour session remotely. As part of the NYT team that received the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021, she drew from her frontline experience covering the Covid-19 pandemic. Key takeaways from her session included:

• Behind-the-scenes look at how NYT covered the rapid developments around vaccines, treatments, and scientific uncertainties.

• Identifying reliable sources of data, especially in low-resource countries, and how journalists can navigate misinformation and government opacity.

• The current state of the pandemic globally – what defines its "end," and what questions still remain unanswered.

• The future of health science coverage in regions affected by poverty or conflict, and how to make global science relevant to local audiences.

• Introduction to Spectrum, her platform focused on autism, as an example of specialized, impactful journalism on underreported health topics.

The session concluded with a robust Q&A, with participants engaging Mandavilli on practical and ethical dimensions of science reporting.

The Workshops agenda also featured:

• A visit to the Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research.

• A session on media disinformation in health, led by Tamar Kintsurashvili, Executive Director of the Media Development Foundation.

• A training session by Artyom Liss, media consultant and former BBC Europe Editor, focusing on the challenges journalists face in reporting on scientific data and health topics accurately.

The Tbilisi workshop marked a significant step in equipping regional journalists with tools and frameworks necessary for credible and impactful health reporting. In a media landscape shaped by crises—whether pandemics or political instability—initiatives like these are crucial in promoting transparency, accuracy, and trust in public health narratives.