Impact

Lecture to focus on ‘Obamacare & The Media’

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Important elements of the Affordable Care Act, widely known as “Obamacare,” are set to roll out in October and polls show that most people still have only a superficial knowledge of the law and how it will impact them.

A journalist with more than two decades of experience covering health care will address the law and important related issues during a free public lecture titled “Obamacare & The Media: The Good, The Bad and The Challenge Ahead” at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 14, at the State Theatre in downtown State College.

Phil Galewitz, a Penn State alumnus and a specialist in the field of health care journalism, will address how the media has performed in communicating the intricacies of the complicated and contentious law to the public. He will also discuss how journalists and public relations professionals cut through the ideological rhetoric that swirls around Obamacare, and how they can reach marginalized audiences.

Galewitz, who covers Medicare, Medicaid and long-term health care for Kaiser Health News, has focused on health care journalism for more than two decades and serves as a board member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

A former reporter for Palm Beach (Fla.) Post and the Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., Galewitz has earned two Penn State degrees: a bachelor’s in health planning and administration in 1987 and an master’s in public administration and health policy in 1994. He also worked for The Daily Collegian as an undergraduate at Penn State.

The lecture is sponsored by the Ben Bronstein Lecture in Ethics and Public Relations, which is housed in the College of Communications. The Bronstein Lecture was created by Bronstein, who earned his degree in journalism in 1961 and has been a longtime supporter of the University. He endowed the lecture in order to support ethics-related events as part of the core mission of the College of Communications.

Bronstein was the founding director of public relations at the Penn State College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center and held director positions in public relations at two statewide health care associations.

The mission of the Don Davis Program in Ethical Leadership is to promote professional, academic and personal integrity within the community of the College of Communications. The program has a special focus on the development of responsibility and integrity among undergraduates in the college as part of their preparation to be the principled leaders of tomorrow’s media institutions.

Last Updated June 14, 2021

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