It was announced today that Reporter Shannon Dooling was selected for a national health coverage fellowship. The news release from The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation is reprinted below:

The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation today announced that thirteen medical journalists from across the nation have been selected for the 2019 class of the Health Coverage Fellowship.

The 2019 fellows are Lindsey Bever of The Washington Post, Larrison Campbell of Mississippi Today, Rhitu Chatterjee of NPR, Shannon Dooling of WBUR Radio in Boston, Dan Haar of Hearst CT Media, Emmarie Huetteman of Kaiser Health News, Vivien Leigh of WCSH-TV in Portland (ME), Jennifer Moore of KSMU-Ozarks Public Radio, Bonnie Petrie of Texas Public Radio, Alyssa Jeong Perry of KPCC-Southern California Public Radio, Sumathi Reddy of The Wall Street Journal, Ben Tinker of CNN, and Trent Spiner of The New Hampshire Union Leader.

The fellowship is designed to help the media improve its coverage of critical health care issues. It does that by bringing in as speakers more than 75 health officials, practitioners, researchers, and patients. It also brings the journalists out to watch first-hand how the system works, from walking the streets at night with mental health case workers to riding a Medflight helicopter or spending a morning in a crowded emergency room.

The program, which is entering its eighteenth year, is sponsored by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, with support from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, Bower Foundation in Mississippi, Connecticut Health Foundation, Endowment for Health in New Hampshire, Kaiser Family Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Maine Health Access Foundation, Missouri Foundation for Health, National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and, in Texas, the Episcopal Health Foundation, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Methodist Healthcare Ministries, and St. David’s Foundation.

The fellowship will run for nine days, beginning April 26, 2019. It is housed at Babson College’s Center for Executive Education in Wellesley, MA. Larry Tye, who covered health and environmental issues at the Boston Globe for 15 years, directs the program. A former Nieman Fellow and author of eight books, Tye has taught journalism at Boston University, Northeastern, Tufts, and Harvard.

Next spring’s fellowship will focus on a series of pressing issues – from the ongoing fight over the future of Obamacare to curbing drug costs, addressing mental illness, redressing public health threats, and rethinking end-of-life issues. Attention also will be given to breakthroughs in medical treatments and innovations in the delivery of care.

The teaching will not end when fellows head back to their stations or papers. Tye, the program director, will be on call for the journalists for the full year following their nine days in Wellesley. He will help when they are stuck for ideas or whom to call on a story. He also will assist in thinking out projects and carving out clearer definitions of beats.

WBUR is pleased to announce the public media stations selected to participate in BizLab’s initiative to design and conduct revenue experiments for public radio in the digital age. The project is funded with $750,000 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and $250,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Each participating station will work with WBUR’s BizLab for six months, using lean, user-centered design methodologies to identify and test new sources of revenue for that station. By engaging audiences and quickly testing concepts in-market, each station will generate quantitative results to inform their near-term strategic investments. Collaborating stations will share results and best practices with each other and the broader public radio system.

The selected stations are:

- WAMU, American University Radio, Washington D.C.
- Louisville Public Media (WFPL, WFPK, WUOL), Louisville, KY
- Capital Public Radio, Sacramento, CA
- WLRN-FM, Public Radio for South Florida and the Florida Keys, Miami, FL
- Vermont Public Radio, Colchester, VT
- WDET-FM, Detroit’s Public Radio Station, Detroit, MI

“With the acquisition and relaunch of Washington’s popular digital news outlet DCist, WAMU has been experimenting with innovative revenue strategies that can sustain public media in the digital age,” said WAMU senior director of content and news Andi McDaniel. “The opportunity to work with WBUR and BizLab couldn’t be better aligned with where we are, and where we’re aiming to go—we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

“As media's role in people's lives changes, it's important we understand those changes — from a content perspective and a business one,” said Louisville Public Media president Stephen George. “That's why Louisville Public Media is thrilled to be part of this ambitious work to identify new sustainable revenue streams for our organization and public media in general."

These stations will be evaluating revenue models across a broad spectrum of ideas, looking at hyper-local versus state-wide engagement, small business partnerships versus corporate sponsorship arrangements, and digital-only membership versus in-person events. As the stations launch and learn, they will each share outcomes to benefit all public media stations seeking new revenue models.

For more information about the full scope of this initiative, please refer to this press release.

Find about more about BizLab here.

Endless Thread, WBUR's podcast in collaboration with Reddit, was named one of the "15 favourite podcasts of 2018".  Congratulations to the whole team!

Congratulations to the team at Endless Thread for being named one of the '16 top podcasts'. Click here to check out the full list.

Robin Young, co-host of Here & Now and Meghna Chakrabarti, host of On Point, will narrate Clement Clarke Moore’s classic “A Visit from St. Nicholas (‘Twas the Night Before Christmas) at the December 20 and 22  Holiday Pops, a performance filled with holiday music favorites, the traditional Pops sing-along, and a visit from Santa Claus himself!

Started in 1973 by Boston Pops Conductor Arthur Fiedler, this concert takes place in the magical atmosphere of world-famous Symphony Hall that is beautifully decorated to evoke all the magic and charm of the season.

Click here to purchase tickets for Robin Young’s performance on 12/20.

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WBUR and The New York Times, in partnership with the Huntington Theatre Company, are celebrating Valentine’s Day with a special live performance of Modern Love: The Podcast. Hosted by Meghna Chakrabarti (host of Modern Love: The Podcast as well as NPR & WBUR’s On Point) with Daniel Jones (editor of the NYT “Modern Love” column), the event will be a live recording of the hit podcast featuring three Modern Love essays read by top actors from stage and screen including William Jackson Harper from television's The Good Place. It will also feature a live musical performance. Modern Love Live will take place on Sat., Feb. 16, 2019 at 8 p.m. at the Huntington Avenue Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday, Dec. 20. Prices start at $25.

Modern Love: The Podcast transforms the popular reader-submitted NYT Modern Love essays into an immersive weekly podcast experience that takes listeners on an audio journey, bringing the poignant, honest and hopeful stories to life. Each episode features a reading performed by actors, combined with music and an intricately produced soundscape.

Exploring the joys and tribulations of love, Modern Love: The Podcast debuted at #1 on the iTunes chart. The podcast launched on Jan. 21, 2016. Since then, more than 100 top actors have read for the podcast, including Kate Winslet, Uma Thurman, Sandra Oh, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sterling K. Brown, Stanley Tucci, Angela Bassett, Michelle Rodriguez, Willem Dafoe, Kristen Bell, Issa Rae, Olivia Munn, and Sarah Silverman.

On December 2, 1867, Charles Dickens began his first American reading tour of “A Christmas Carol” at The Parker House in Boston. Some of WBUR's on-air personalities were honored to be there for a special reading of this timeless holiday tale of charity and redemption to benefit Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for women in need. WBUR is thrilled to present this beloved Boston tradition and support the women of Rosie’s Place.
WBUR Readers:

Bill Littlefield, former host of Only a Game
Meghna Chakrabarti, host of On Point
Bob Oakes, host of Morning Edition
Robin Young, co-host of Here & Now
Jack Lepiarz, Reporter and Anchor
Location
Omni Parker House
60 School Street
Boston, MA
A Christmas Carol is produced with support by:
Firestone And Parson Jewelers has been engaged in selling fine jewelry and antiques in Boston since 1946. The firm continues to be owned and operated at the 30 Newbury Street store by the son and grandson of its founder.
Bearly Read Books is Metrowest Boston’s Largest Antiquarian Book Store. Have your next event at their store!  Unique setting for a book club, writing workshop, wine and cheese social, art class, or any other private party.

Mondays On Morning Edition:

A series of stories looking at how our food systems are changing and the role Massachusetts farmers, researchers and companies are playing in shaping the industry.

Click here for the full series.

'The process is cruel,' Patrick says in interview with WBUR.

Read more here.

WBUR is teaming up with StoryCorps, asking teachers to invite their students to record an interview with an elder as part of The Great Thanksgiving Listen. This national project encourages young people to seek the wisdom of elders - grandparents, aunts and uncles or other mentors - and preserve their stories for themselves and for history. Participants can ask about who they are, what they’ve learned in life, and how they want to be remembered.

Dave Isay, Founder of StoryCorps, says, “Students will come away from the project not only knowing more about the important people in their lives, but also having experienced first-hand the power of listening to bring people together.”

The Great Thanksgiving Listen has grown from an experimental challenge into a vital intergenerational movement. Interviews become part of the StoryCorps Archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Thousands of high schools from all 50 states have participated and preserved more than 100,000 interviews. While aimed at young people, anyone with a smartphone and an interest in storytelling can create a unique oral history with an elder or any loved one.

Learn more at WBUR.org/edify, WBUR’s home for education news.