Graduate Receives Journalism Award

Created by the New York Academy of Medicine, the award was established to recognize excellent reporting in the growing field of urban health journalism. Zeltner was selected for her September 30, 2014 article entitled “More than half of Cleveland kids live in poverty, and it's making them sick.” She was honored at the New York Academy of Medicine Gala earlier this month.

“Ms. Zeltner’s article represents the best of a growing field of reporting in urban health,” said New York Academy of Medicine President Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D. “Her in-depth research and solution-oriented look at the health challenges of a large portion of Cleveland’s kids living in poverty, is a prime example of the importance of this kind of thoughtful reporting on the complex and multifaceted health issues faced by people in cities around the world.”

“While it takes time, effort and support to do these types of stories, the long-term health effects of living in cities and in an environment of poverty is an important area that we should be paying special attention to,” says Zeltner. “I have eighteen pages of other stories I want to write on these issues, and I’m thankful to The Plain Dealer for letting me go after them.”