Joanne Kenen (NASW Member), Lymari Morales, and Joshua M. Sharfstein—Information Sick: How Journalism's Decline and Misinformation's Rise Are Harming Our Health―and What We Can Do About It

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Cover of the book Information Sick: How Journalism
Information Sick
INFORMATION SICK:
HOW JOURNALISM'S DECLINE
AND MISINFORMATION'S RISE
ARE HARMING OUR HEALTH―
AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT
Joanne Kenen (NASW Member),
Lymari Morales, and Joshua M. Sharfstein
Johns Hopkins University Press, October 7, 2025
Paperback: $34.94, eBook: $34.95
Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1421453125
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1421453132

Kenen reports:

When I started as Journalist-in-Residence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in late 2021, I wasn’t thinking about writing a book. After nearly a decade of overseeing health coverage at Politico, I was, of course, aware of the rising skepticism about health care and public health, which would coalesce into MAHA.

Portrait photo of Joanne Kenen
Joanne Kenen
Photo by Martha Stewart
I began thinking about how changes in U.S. media made it hard for people to access quality news about health and health policy: The decline of local news. The horse-race focus of national news. Changes in media ownership, which have since become more salient. The inescapable onslaught of mis- and disinformation.

Josh Sharfstein, M.D., a vice dean who helped me get to JHU—and my future co-author although we didn’t know that yet—and I developed a course on the media landscape. We had a lot of guest speakers, including journalists. Some of the most creative and hopeful came from emerging nonprofit outlets. Some focused on health and science, while others gave voice to communities that are not always heard.

Somewhere along the way, we realized we were onto something. How, where, and from whom we get our information affects our health—ours as individuals and the systems we rely on to keep us safe. That prompted us to write Information Sick along with a third contributor, Lymari Morales, who led Hopkins’ public outreach during Covid.

We didn’t need an agent. Josh had enjoyed working on a prior book with an editor who was by then at Johns Hopkins University Press. A bird in hand. Our editor was indeed very good, although Josh and I edited one another, so our manuscript was pretty clean. The marketing and distribution have not been as good an experience as the editorial side.

Nevertheless, Josh and I have been all over the country and on many Zooms, talking and teaching. We keep updating our book talk. There’s no shortage of new material. I had debated starting a Substack when the book was published. I probably should have. I still might.

Contact Info:

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Tell your fellow NASW members how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, funded and conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you began working on your book or what you might have done differently.

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Banner image adapted from original photo by Joanne Kenen.

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.

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