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Abstract
Midcareer training has become more prevalent in journalism in the past decade, but the impacts of these training programs have scarcely been studied in the field. Journalists repeatedly ask for more training opportunities, and companies have been funneling millions of dollars into programs. Journalists who cover specialized areas, such as health and medicine, say they need more training to grapple with complex issues. This study explores whether training changes the way reporters construct the news. Two components of a journalism training program held at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, were used as exemplars in this study. Articles written before the journalists participated in the training in 2002 were compared to articles the journalists wrote following the training. The results were mixed. They indicate the training may have some influence on how the reporters do their jobs after training but not as much as was expected.