The Burness Effect Blog

An article by The Scientist highlights why we should push to get scientists to engage with the public in a language they'll understand.

Health insurance costs continue to rise, hitting consumers with high premiums and co-pays despite the downturn in the economy. Adding insult to injury, a new report from Consumers Union (a Burness client) has found that over the past decade, nonprofit Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) health insurers accumulated vast amounts of surplus cash.

It’s an unfortunate reality: many Americans see oral health as unnecessary or cosmetic. But oral health is critical to overall health. Though largely ignored in national health reform, oral health is important, and for some—like 12-year old Deamonte Driver who died from an untreated tooth infection—it’s a matter of life and death.

A lot of us here at Burness are big fans of Hans Rosling, the professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, whose TED talks are always remarkably engaging. He shows his passion for his work that most researchers and doctors … Continue reading Using Strong Visuals to Bring Your Presentations to Life →

Today at the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., a unique event is in progress: leaders from the health, finance and community development sectors are coming together to discuss how their collaboration could help build healthier communities.

David Pogue, the technology writer at The New York Times, used last month's announcement from the Times' standards editor that reporters shouldn't use the word "tweet," to provide a basic primer on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, and Yelp.David Pogue, the technology writer at The New York Times, used last month's announcement from the Times' standards editor that reporters shouldn't use the word "tweet," to provide a basic primer on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, and Yelp.

Rethinking the Mission of Medical Schools

As the U.S. girds for an influx of newly-insured patients under health reform, attention is shifting to whether medical schools are producing doctors that meet the country’s health care needs. Helping to spark this debate is a recent study that ranks U.S. medical schools in a new, provocative way: on the extent to which they produce doctors who practice primary care, work in underserved areas, and are minorities.

From our very own Kay Campbell, here are some photos from last week's debate on the future of journalism. I think they capture the excitement and energy of the afternoon perfectly.

In a digital world, are investigative reporting and hard-hitting journalism endangered, or just evolving?

The concept of going somewhere online that you otherwise would not is exactly what I like about social media. We don’t have time to scour the internet, so why not rely on other people who have similar interests to direct us to interesting news we would otherwise miss. Plus, tweeting is a great exercise in communicating in soundbites—you can’t tell the whole story, you just need to make me want to know more.