Healthing.ca: New Postmedia website provides health reporting
Diana Duong (RSJ ’13) is an editor and writer at Healthing.ca, a health news source by Postmedia (Peter J. Thompson/National Post).
Healthing.ca is a health news website launched by Postmedia last November, which provides verified, fact-checked information and stories about healthcare across Canada.
“Health is something that affects everyone,” said Diana Duong (RSJ ’13), who was hired as the website’s editor in November. “(We’re) telling news through a patient’s perspective.”
Healthing has been producing coverage of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, dedicating a section on the menu bar to it. Covering the pandemic has been a major undertaking for the team.
“We’re focusing more on a common message of what you can actually do to protect yourself or people who are more at risk,” she said during a phone interview on March 12. “We hear these things about stockpiling, things that really aren’t helpful right now… (so we take) a more careful approach to it.”
Long before it became a pandemic, Healthing has been working on reporting responsibly and avoiding fear mongering, according to Duong. She wrote in January about how racism can be fuelled by epidemics (external link) .
“We’re really trying to reach out to the people who are directly affected… getting that firsthand account,” she said, referencing an interview with a doctor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre who has seen patients affected by COVID-19 (external link) .
But Healthing has been covering more than just COVID-19. Healthing is a source for Canadians concerned about a wide range of health matters, providing information and news about wellness, research and the human stories behind the numbers.
Duong said that they are committed to “quality over quantity,” prioritizing accurate and informational reporting, and not repeating news stories already covered by other Postmedia outlets.
The website is still developing, and Duong hopes to have a bigger launch later this year.
“In a way, it feels a bit like a start-up, even though we’re part of Postmedia,” she said. They have rights to publish Postmedia content as well.
Duong is the editor and also writes content. She has long held an interest in health journalism since her time at Ryerson, covering it for various outlets including Chatelaine and CBC’s The National. Some of her freelance has appeared inThe Globe & Mail, Reader's Digest, Canadian Living and the Huffington Post.
Duong works alongside executive producer Lisa Machado and web producer Nicholas Sokic, as well as several reporters and experts from across the country. They welcome pitches from interested writers.
Check out Healthing’s website: https://www.healthing.ca/ (external link)
Tweet Diana @dianaduo (external link)
